The cost of living in the Anthropocene

What are the true cost of living in the Anthropocene? Wikipedia: The Anthropocene is an informal geologic chronological term that serves to mark the evidence and extent of human activities that have had a significant global impact on the Earth‘s ecosystems. The term was coined recently by ecologist Eugene F. Stoermer and has been widely popularized by the Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist, Paul Crutzen, who regards the…

Global Warming Speeds Up Methane Emissions from Freshwater

By Tim Radford (Climate News Network): Scientists think the amount of methane emitted to the atmosphere from freshwater ecosystems will increase as the climate warms, triggering further warming. LONDON, 20 March – British scientists have identified yet another twist to the threat of global warming. Any further rises in temperature are likely to accelerate the release of methane from…

Volcanic Eruptions Add to Larger Impact on Climate

The recent slow down in global warming has been attributed to a number of factors, including excess heat being stored in the deep ocean and reductions of certain greenhouse gases. Now add volcanic eruptions to the mix of contributing factors. A new analysis published in Nature Geosciences on Sunday shows that a series of relatively small…

Flooding And Erosion Damage Across The UK – Aerial Footage

Sky News takes to the skies for a bird’s-eye view of the “breathtaking” damage inflicted on the UK’s coastline and flooded areas. #climate Met Office: UK has had its wettest winter on record: Blue and Green http://t.co/ZHFjCY1NAq Prolonged stor… pic.twitter.com/SORy1RKJHy — Abrupt ClimateChange (@EI_Climate) February 21, 2014 Climate change – storms link probed by Met…

The melting of permafrost

Updated: Discovery of Positive Methane Feedback from Permafrost Thaw

Update: As pointed out by one of the authors, Rhiannon Mondav, the microbe is not considered an entire new discovery. (See comment below). Phys.org explains: Scientists from The University of Queensland have discovered a microbe that is set to play a significant role in future global warming. UQ’s Australian Centre for Ecogenomics researcher Ben Woodcroft said…

Ancient 5,000-Year-Old Forest Unearthed by UK Storms

A sign for extreme change is when storms destroy ancient landmarks, unearth 1 million old foot prints (See video above) or reveal  pottery from the Iron Age and Romano-British time. Now they discovered ancient forest stumps. The BBC explains: Geologists believe extensive forests extended across Mount’s Bay in Penzance between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago. The shifting sands have also revealed…

Flooded Soil Science

Repost from 2012:  Kate Scow – Professor of Soil Science and Microbial Ecology, UC Davis setup an excellent wiki entry about flooding on soils. Flooded soils occur with complete water saturation of soil pores, and generally result in anoxic conditions of the soil environment. Flooded soil environments may include such ecosystem as: rice paddies; wetlands (swamps,…

UK Floods 2014 Could Last for Months + 1.6M Homes at Risk for Flooding

Andy McKenzie, a groundwater scientist at the British Geological Survey, told Sky News that even if the rain stopped today, so much water is soaking through the soil that levels are likely to keep rising for another two months. The risk of flooding could remain high until May, he said. According to the data from the…

Thawing Permafrost Could Release Vast Carbon Deposits, Diseases

by Science World Report | January 8, 2014 | Release URL Dr Guido Grosse has been studying the Arctic for fourteen years to find out how the frozen ground, known as the permafrost, is reacting to an environment that is getting hotter all the time. The samples he has drilled out – in regions so…