Sea ice is formed from ocean water that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs at about minus 1.8 degrees Celsius (28.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Most Antarctic sea ice occurs annually, meaning it forms in the winter and melts during the summer. Sea ice regulates exchanges of heat, moisture and salinity in the polar oceans. It insulates the relatively warm […]
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An influential panel of climate scientists has expressed higher confidence than ever that human activity is the main cause of the rise in global temperatures since the 1950s, Reuters.com reports. A leaked draft of an upcoming report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, based on a broad analysis of published scientific studies, concludes with 95 percent certainty […]
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2013 – Colorado River Delta, Mexico: Water began flowing in the Mexican part of the Colorado River for the first time in decades. Dams, including the Hoover Dam and the Morelos Dam, usually keep most of the river’s water in the U.S. and divert some to Tijuana and surrounding farmland. The joint U.S.- Mexican International Boundary and Water Commission authorized […]
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The ozone layer is a protector of the earth from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. According to reports the ozone layer is getting smaller over Antarctica. The scientists are using satellites and sensors to get information on the measurements of the ozone layer. Since the early 20th century when the emissions of chemical substances called halo-carbons the ozone layer has […]
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We all know that hurricanes are very powerful and destructive. Some scientists think that we can try to control them by slowing, stopping or weakening them with pumps. The pumps would bring the colder water to the surface from deep into the ocean waters to decrease the heat that hurricanes thrive on. This system would be very costly transporting the […]
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Between fighting wildfires and rerouting the Iditarod, Alaska has had a tough time with climate change. But at least there’s one good outcome: local food. In Bethel, a town in southwestern Alaska, farmer Tim Meyers is taking advantage of rising temperatures to grow food in the previously inhospitable tundra. NPR reports: At the 15-acre organic farm, which has been operating for more […]
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Heatwaves that used to arrive once every 20 years or so could become annual events by 2075 across almost two-thirds of the planet’s land surface – if humans go on burning ever more fossil fuels and releasing ever more greenhouse gases. Claudia Tebaldi, visiting scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Michael Wehner, senior staff scientist at […]
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Antarctica and Greenland are shedding their ice sheets at record rates. The warming of the ocean waters is essentially causing the ice sheets to self-destruct and start to collapse. With this ice melting the sea levels may rise to about 6 inches by the year 2100 which is estimated to be more than previously predicted. Antarctica is suggested to be […]
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There is little dispute that in the wake of European colonists’ arrival in the New World, Native American populations were decimated by disease and conflict. But when it comes to the timing, magnitude, and effects of this Native American depopulation — it depends on who you ask. Many scholars claim that disease struck the native population shortly after their first […]
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According to National Geographic, the coldest place on Earth is the East Antarctic Ice Sheet with temperatures as low as minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature reading was taken during the polar winter and is the lowest temperature ever recorded on the Earth. Russia’s Vostok Weather Station previously held the record for the lowest recorded temperature. However, that record has […]
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