New research aims to better understand how much methane – a potent greenhouse gas – is burbling to the surface of the Mackenzie Valley in Canada’s Northwest Territories as the permafrost melts. Hidden beneath the frozen ground of the Arctic could be a ticking time bomb. Vast reservoirs of methane – a greenhouse gas 30 times more […]
climate
North Pacific’s sea slug invasion linked to mystery ocean blob
Unusually warm waters in the Pacific Ocean are driving dozens of species of nudibranch – a photogenic type of sea slug – northward at a surprising pace. This could signal the beginning of a major climate shift in the region, says Jeffrey Goddard, a marine biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Read more in New […]
Sea-level rise may displace 13 million people in the US by 2100
Sea-level rise could force three times as many people in the US from their homes by the end of this century as previously thought, according to an analysis of population trends. Read more in New Scientist.
When Good Fish Die Young
Rising temperatures are suppressing survival rates for young fish. Climate change is making fish die young. Over the past six decades, the proportion of fish that survive to adulthood has been going down, by three percent per decade on average, according to a new analysis of global fish stock data. Compiling statistics on changing fish […]
Backyard Hockey A Bellwether For Climate Change
Volunteers track shifts in temperature with their homemade rinks. Outdoor hockey games on suburban backyard rinks are an iconic part of the culture in Canada. Wayne Gretzky famously learned his trade on a homemade rink his father created every winter, and until recently the image of children skating on a frozen pond was featured on […]
Spot of bother: have we been getting solar activity wrong?
For 400 years sunspot numbers have told us what the sun is up to. But wrinkles in the record have left solar scientists scratching their heads, until now. EVERY lunchtime, Gustav Holmberg leaves his desk at Lund University in Sweden to take part in a scientific ritual that stretches back to Galileo’s time. Back at his flat, […]