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Acidification: the latest unknown for stressed Arctic ecosystem

May 8, 2013 15:07
By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - The Arctic ecosystem, already under pressure from record ice melts, faces another potential threat in the form of rapid acidification of the ocean, according to an international study published on Monday. Acidification, blamed on the transformation of rising levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air into carbonic acid in the sea, makes it harder for shellfish and crabs to grow their shells, and might also impair fish reproduction, it said.

Climate change could get worse if huge amounts of extra heat absorbed by oceans are released back into air, scientists say

April 9, 2013 02:48
Climate change could get worse quickly if huge amounts of extra heat absorbed by the oceans are released back into the air, scientists said after unveiling new research showing that oceans have helped mitigate the effects of warming since 2000. Heat-trapping gases are being emitted into the atmosphere faster than ever, and the 10 hottest years since records began have all taken place since 1998, but the rate at which the earth's surface is heating up has slowed somewhat since 2000, causing scientists to search for an explanation for the pause. Experts in France and Spain said y

Canada's glaciers could shrink by a fifth by 2100

March 7, 2013 20:31
A fifth of Canada's glaciers could be gone by the end of the century, a casualty of global warming that would drive a 1.4-inch (3.5-centimeter) rise in sea levels, a study found Thursday. "Even if we only assume moderate global warming, it is still highly likely that the ice is going to melt at an alarming rate," lead author Jan Lenaerts said in a statement. And "the chances of it growing back are very slim," emphasized the meteorologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Canada's Arctic glaciers headed for unstoppable thaw-study

March 7, 2013 15:16
* 20 percent of Canada's glaciers could thaw by 2100 * Melt would add 3.5 cm to world sea levels By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO, March 7 (Reuters) - Canadian glaciers that are the world's third biggest store of ice after Antarctica and Greenland seem headed for an irreversible melt that will push up sea levels, scientists said on Thursday.

Icy Siberian caves show tiny warming, may mean big thaw

February 21, 2013 15:15
* 1.5 degrees C warming could thaw Siberian permafrost-study * Could destabilise pipelines, buildings, aggravate warming By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Ancient records from icy caves in Siberia show that a small amount of global warming can thaw vast areas of frozen ground and release harmful stores of greenhouse gases, a study showed.
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