Category Archives: Climate Change

Climate change likely drove the extinction of North America’s largest animals

A new study published in Nature Communicationssuggests that the extinction of North America's largest mammals was not driven by overhunting by rapidly expanding human populations following their entrance into the Americas. Instead, the findings, based on a new statistical modelling approach, suggest that populations of large mammals fluctuated in response to climate change, with drastic decreases…

The melting of the Greenland ice sheet could lead to a sea level rise of 18 cm in 2100

A new study, headed by researchers from the Universities of Liège and Oslo, applies the latest climate models, of which the MAR predicts a 60% greater melting of the Greenland ice sheet than previously predicted. Data that will be included in the next IPCC report. This study is published in Nature Communications. The Greenland ice sheet,…

Ancient genomes suggest woolly rhinos went extinct due to climate change, not overhunting

The extinction of prehistoric megafauna like the woolly mammoth, cave lion, and woolly rhinoceros at the end of the last ice age has often been attributed to the spread of early humans across the globe. Although overhunting led to the demise of some species, a study appearing August 13 in the journal Current Biology found that the…

Monarch Butterfly Populations Are Plummeting

Both Eastern and Western monarch butterflies are seeing their populations plummet precipitously, worrying scientists that the future of the species is in peril, according to multiple surveys of butterfly populations. The New York Times recently reported on efforts to track the Western monarch butterfly, which spends its winter on California's central coast before heading off to…

Warming, acidic oceans may nearly eliminate coral reef habitats by 2100

Rising sea surface temperatures and acidic waters could eliminate nearly all existing coral reef habitats by 2100, suggesting restoration projects in these areas will likely meet serious challenges, according to new research presented in San Diego at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020. Scientists project 70 to 90 percent of coral reefs will disappear over the…

Global warming is the kindling that caused extensive wildfire

In November of last year, the wildfire that started in California, U.S.A burned areas that amount about the size of Seoul and destructed over 500 buildings for two weeks. In 2018, six fires started simultaneously in southern California and spread out to the neighboring areas, burning total of 405 km2 with 86 fatalities and 200,000…

Poor water conditions drive invasive snakeheads onto land

The largest fish to walk on land, the voracious northern snakehead, will flee water that is too acidic, salty or high in carbon dioxide—important information for future management of this invasive species Snakeheads eat native species of fish, frogs and crayfish, destroying the food web in some habitats. They can survive on land for up to…

Venus may have been habitable for 3 billion years, before mysterious climate shift

The hellish planet Venus may have had a perfectly habitable environment for 2 to 3 billion years after the planet formed, suggesting life would have had ample time to emerge there, according to a new study. In 1978, NASA's Pioneer Venus spacecraft found evidence that the planet may have once had shallow oceans on its surface. Since…

Volunteers scour Cocoa Beach for displaced sea turtles, eggs after Hurricane Dorian

Whenever huge storms and hurricanes threaten county beaches, the Sea Turtle Preservation Society begins to worry. Dave Cheney explained to Channel 9 how exposed nests can mean destruction for turtle eggs. "The waves will erode nests," said Cheney. "They'll open up some of the nests." Even though many eggs may have been lost, experts said the…

Scientists isolate drought-resistant gene in barley

The discovery of a gene in barley responsible for drought resistance will help future-proof crops against some of the effects of climate change, scientists believe. Researchers spent nearly five years isolating the specific gene – HvMYB1 – from more than 39,000 genes in barley. Tests proved that plants in which the gene is more prominently…