Wednesday, 8 February, 2012

If scientists agree that the globe is warming, aren’t hot, dry spells more evidence of warming? Yes, but. The Texas heat wave shows how weather blends climate change and natural variation. In looking for the fingerprints of global warming, we may have to separate drought from heat.

If conflicts are more common near the equator, what will global warming affect do? A new study shows increases in conflict during el Niño periods — but only during the warm, dry part of the cycle, and only in places affected by these big climatic cycles.

The globe warms, and the Arctic starts to burn. If warming causes fires that release carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, will this accelerate further warming? A new study measures carbon releases from the largest tundra fire in North America.

New instruments are giving a better view of how those astonishingly strong lightning bolts form inside clouds – and we are also getting a better picture of the many ways that lightning can harm us.

Tornadoes need wet air, dry air, and wind shear. Understanding these has lead to major improvements in tornado prediction. Is climate change boosting these storms?

Are extreme heat, wicked cyclones and record rainfalls signs of climate change, or just more changes in the weather? Will warming eliminate record cold days? Will hurricanes get bigger?

Scientists propose 9 limits on human actions: Wrecking ozone, over-using fertilizer, killing species could block key “ecosystem services.” Are there natural limits to fresh water use and pollution?

The ozone layer protects Earth from UV rays: Twenty-two years after a treaty to protect ozone, how is the layer doing? What has happened to the ozone hole above Antarctica?

Rapid melting of Canadian ice sheet suggests that Greenland’s massive ice cap could melt and raise sea level much faster than predicted within a century.

Frosty questions: Are some snowflakes identical? How do flakes form, and how does weather affect their shape? How does ice in the atmosphere affect weather and climate? And where does the jet stream fit in this picture?