[lotuseclat79]

New U.S. Drought Portal Unveiled
Article here.

A civilizations lifeblood is available fresh water. Drought is a stealthy natural disaster, it doesn't have the huff and puff of a hurricane, the shock of an earthquake or the terror of a tornado- but it can be just as deadly. We have been covering the devastating drought in the Southeast, as well as the fires in California, now we have a tool to get better acquainted with this silent stalker.

-- Tom

P.S. Link to Drought portal is at bottom of article (i.e. before Comments).

[lotuseclat79]

Absorbing CO2 by Dumping Urea Into Ocean
Wired Blog Article here.

The Philippines government has approved an Australian company's plan to absorb excess CO2 by dumping massive amounts of urea in the Sulu Sea. Environmental activists say the dumping is a potentially risky, scientifically unsound gamble that underscores the dangerous absence of international geoengineering regulations.

Like iron seeding, urea dumping is supposed to nourish blooms of greenhouse gas-gobbling plankton. But iron seeding is controversial, with some scientists saying it might produce even more CO2 -- and compared to urea dumping, iron seeding is well understood.

Note: Urea and nitrogen fertilizer pollution caused by agricultural run-off has been linked to the creation of toxic algal blooms in the scientific literature, and raises the possibility of dead zones from oxygen depletion.

-- Tom

[LANMaster]

Originally Posted by lotuseclat79

Absorbing CO2 by Dumping Urea Into Ocean
Wired Blog Article here.

The Philippines government has approved an Australian company's plan to absorb excess CO2 by dumping massive amounts of urea in the Sulu Sea. Environmental activists say the dumping is a potentially risky, scientifically unsound gamble that underscores the dangerous absence of international geoengineering regulations.

Like iron seeding, urea dumping is supposed to nourish blooms of greenhouse gas-gobbling plankton. But iron seeding is controversial, with some scientists saying it might produce even more CO2 -- and compared to urea dumping, iron seeding is well understood.

Note: Urea and nitrogen fertilizer pollution caused by agricultural run-off has been linked to the creation of toxic algal blooms in the scientific literature, and raises the possibility of dead zones from oxygen depletion.

-- Tom

This stupid move sponsored by hysteria.

[lizard]

Climate change could diminish drinking water more than expected

As sea levels rise, coastal communities could lose up to 50 percent more of their fresh water supplies than previously thought, according to a new study from Ohio State University.

Hydrologists here have simulated how saltwater will intrude into fresh water aquifers, given the sea level rise predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC has concluded that within the next 100 years, sea level could rise as much as 23 inches, flooding coasts worldwide.

Scientists previously assumed that, as saltwater moved inland, it would penetrate underground only as far as it did above ground.

But this new research shows that when saltwater and fresh water meet, they mix in complex ways, depending on the texture of the sand along the coastline. In some cases, a zone of mixed, or brackish, water can extend 50 percent further inland underground than it does above ground.

... continues @ physorg.com

[lotuseclat79]

Scientists enhance Mother Nature's carbon handling mechanism
Article here.

Taking a page from Nature herself, a team of researchers developed a method to enhance removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and place it in the Earth's oceans for storage.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Just got the latest skinny on the weather forecast for this winter in New England and the Mid-West.

It seems that if Siberia's October is colder than normal, then New England weather will be a cold one. Siberia's snow cover for October 2007 was slightly less than normal, so it bodes for a slightly warmer winter in New England and the Mid-West.

This coming winter, 2008, will be slightly warmer than normal at about an average of +1 degree while the Mid-West will be warmer on average by about 2.5+ degrees.

The weather forcast if from a Dr. Judah Cohen as reported by Mish Michaels on wbz.com. You can get the information by surfing to http://www.wbz.com and clicking on weather.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

La Niña Persists
Article here.

The tropical Pacific Ocean remains in the grips of a cool La Niña, as shown by new data of sea-level heights from mid-October of 2007, collected by the U.S-French Jason altimetric satellite.


This image of the Pacific Ocean was produced using sea-surface height measurements taken by the U.S-French Jason altimetric satellite. Credit: NASA

-- Tom

P.S. Drought conditions in the SW U.S. and its relation with El Nino are discussed.

[lotuseclat79]

Engineered weathering process could mitigate global warming
Article here.

Researchers at Harvard and Pennsylvania State have invented a technology, inspired by nature, to reduce the accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide caused by human emissions by permanently transferring the CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean. Unlike other ocean sequestration processes, the new technology does not further acidify the ocean.

-- Tom

[CrazyComputerMan]

Why it's solved? but still to carry on....

[lotuseclat79]

Maybe because none of us think Global Warming is solved (as an issue rather than as a thred in this forum) and have not asked wdm2291 (thread originator) to ask the Moderator(s) to revert the "Solved" marker for this thread.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Scientists Simulate Impact Of Future Carbon Levels On Marine Life
Article here.

The world oceans are by far the largest sink of anthropogenic CO2 on our planet. Until now, they have swallowed almost half of the CO2 emitted through the burning of fossil fuels but scientists are concerned about the ability of the oceans to continue to shoulder this environmental burden as CO2 levels rise.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Professor finds global warming is melting soft coral
Article here.

Tel Aviv University Professor (and alumnus) Hudi Benayahu, head of TAU's Porter
School of Environmental Studies, has found that soft corals, an integral and important part of reef environments, are simply melting and wasting away. And Prof. Benayahu believes this could mean a global marine catastrophe.


Cladiella, another soft coral found on reefs. Like the photo to the left, this photo shows a colony that, suffering from high temperatures, has partially lost its symbiogic algae and is in danger of disappearing. Credit: AFTAU

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Learn How Much Your Power Plant Pollutes
Article here.

There's growing worry about global warming, but how much of it is the work of that power plant just outside town? And if Congress limits heat-trapping greenhouse gases, will it affect utility and electric bills? And who's the biggest corporate culprit when it comes to climate change?

Answers to these questions may be only a couple of computer clicks away. You can search the website by country, state, province, county, metro area, city, power company, power plant, or zip code.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Key Findings of UN Scientific Report (dated November 17. 2007)
Article here.

The following are some key findings in a report issued Saturday by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

-- Tom

[LANMaster]

'Global warming' shocker – Who's minding thermometers?

Surface temperature recording stations a shambles, says veteran meteorologist

WASHINGTON – Dire "global warming" predictions are based on bad science from the very start, says a veteran meteorologist who found surface temperatures recorded throughout the U.S. are done so with almost no regard to scientific standards.

As a result of his shocking initial findings that temperature monitoring stations were constructed and placed without regard to achieving accurate recordings of natural temperatures, Anthony Watts set out to investigate the facilities used by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

What he found were temperature stations with sensors on the roofs of buildings, near air-conditioning exhaust vents, in parking lots near hot automobiles, barbecues, chimneys and on pavement and concrete surfaces – all of which would lead to higher temperature recordings than properly established conditions.

Link