Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Impact of coral bleaching on Western Australia's coastline      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The 2016 mass bleaching event on Western Australia's coastline is the most severe global bleaching event to ever be recorded. New research records the impact of this event to the rugged reefs of Western Australia.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Bringing back large herbivores to the steppes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

On 24th October 2017, the first group of nine kulan (Asiatic wild ass) was released into an acclimatization enclosure on the edge of the Altyn Dala protected area in central Kazakhstan. The animals had been transported 1200 km by helicopter from Altyn Emel National Park in the southeast of the country. They will be released in early spring. This is the first step in a multi-year project that aims to restore the full range of large herbivores to this unique area of steppe habitat.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Record-low 2016 Antarctic sea ice due to 'perfect storm' of tropical, polar conditions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The sudden, unexpected nosedive in Antarctic sea ice last year was due to a unique one-two punch from atmospheric conditions both in the tropical Pacific Ocean and around the South Pole.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

California projected to get wetter through this century      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Under business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions, climate models predict California will get warmer during the rest of the century and most also predict the state will get drier. But, new research published in Nature Communications predicts California will actually get wetter. The scientists from the University of California, Riverside predict the state will get an average of 12 percent more precipitation through the end of this century, compared to the last 20 years of last century.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

'Perfect storm' led to 2016 Great Barrier Reef bleaching      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers say unprecedented oceanographic conditions in 2016 produced the perfect storm of factors that lead to a mass coral bleaching.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Scientists throw light on mysterious ice age temperature jumps      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists believe they have discovered the reason behind mysterious changes to the climate that saw temperatures fluctuate by up to 15°C within just a few decades during the ice age periods.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Widespread snowmelt in West Antarctica during unusually warm summer      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An area of West Antarctica more than twice the size of California partially melted in 2016 when warm winds forced by an especially strong El Nino blew over the continent.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Some -- but not all -- corals adapting to warming climate      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study reveals evidence that some corals are adapting to warming ocean waters -- potentially good news in the face of recent reports of global coral die offs due to extreme warm temperatures in 2016.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Increase in extreme sea levels could endanger European coastal communities      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Massive coastal flooding in northern Europe that now occurs once every century could happen every year if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, according to a new study.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Looking for 'fingerprints' at the intersection of weather and climate      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have found the seasonal 'fingerprints' of Arctic sea ice, El Nino, and other climate phenomena in a new study that probes the global interactions between weather and climate.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Changing atmospheric conditions may contribute to stronger ocean waves in Antarctica      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study provides important details on the extent of sea ice, which can protect ice shelves from the impacts of ocean storms, in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Warmer West Coast ocean conditions linked to increased risk of toxic shellfish      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hazardous levels of domoic acid, a natural toxin that accumulates in shellfish, have been linked to warmer ocean conditions in waters off Oregon and Washington for the first time, report scientists.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Early Pacific seafarers likely latched onto El Nino, other climate patterns      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers employed computer simulations and climatic data to help them explore the travels that led to the settlement of islands in Remote Oceania.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

El Nino influences the formation of low pressure systems over the Gulf Stream      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Analysis of cyclone tracks and precyclogenesis flow conditions show that El Niño can shift the preferred cyclogenesis position over the Gulf Stream which influences the cyclone’s track across the North Atlantic, report researchers.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

U.S. Winter outlook predicts warmer, drier South and cooler, wetter North      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Forecasters are saying that La Nina is expected to influence winter conditions this year. The Climate Prediction Center issued a La Nina watch this month, predicting the climate phenomenon is likely to develop in late fall or early winter. La Nina favors drier, warmer winters in the southern U.S and wetter, cooler conditions in the northern U.S. If La Nina conditions materialize, forecasters say it should be weak and potentially short-lived.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Carbon dioxide record at mauna loa, the music video: The sounds of climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two scientists put the carbon dioxide record at Mauna Loa to music, and made a music video of climate change.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Reef castaways: Can coral make it across Darwin's 'impassable' barrier?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team of researchers have shown that vulnerable coral populations in the eastern tropical Pacific have been completely isolated from the rest of the Pacific Ocean for at least the past two decades.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Coral reefs facing a hot time and increased bleaching, especially along US coasts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new NOAA outlook shows that many coral reefs across around the world will likely be exposed to higher-than-normal sea temperatures for an unprecedented third year in a row, leading to increased bleaching - and with no signs of stopping. While the bleaching event is global, it will hit the US hard.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Indian monsoon: Novel approach allows early forecasting      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Indian monsoon's yearly onset and withdrawal can now be forecasted significantly earlier than previously possible. A team of scientists developed a novel prediction method based on a network analysis of regional weather data. Future climate change will likely affect monsoon stability and hence makes accurate forecasting even more relevant.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

NASA examines El Nino's impact on ocean's food source      (via sciencedaily.com) 

El Nino years can have a big impact on the littlest plants in the ocean, and scientists are studying the relationship between the two.