Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice, wrote Robert Frost. But whatever is to be our fate, it is now overdue.
After analysing the eradication of millions of ancient species, scientists have found that a mass extinction is due any moment now.
Their research has shown that every 62 million years - plus or minus 3m years - creatures are wiped from the planet's surface in massive numbers.
Earth Changes
It is already painfully clear that models of anthropogenic global warming are ridiculously inadequate, and do not meet the basic tests of experimental science, no matter how many "scientists" yell "consensus." Now comes a serious question from a serious scientist that threatens to undermine the fundamental premise of the alarmists.
Danish physicist Bjarne Andresen has raised the interesting point that there may be no global warming, because there is no such thing as global temperature! That is because the earth atmosphere is not a homogeneous system. It's not a glass lab jar in your high school physics lab.
Danish physicist Bjarne Andresen has raised the interesting point that there may be no global warming, because there is no such thing as global temperature! That is because the earth atmosphere is not a homogeneous system. It's not a glass lab jar in your high school physics lab.
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - On the prairie where her ancestors once blanketed the landscape, a bison yearling lifted up her muzzle and pirouetted before bounding off in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.
A new NASA study has found that an important counter-balance to the warming of our planet by greenhouse gases --sunlight blocked by dust, pollution and other aerosol particles -- appears to have lost ground.
The thinning of Earth's "sunscreen" of aerosols since the early 1990s could have given an extra push to the rise in global surface temperatures. The finding, published today in the journal Science, may lead to an improved understanding of recent climate change. In a related study published last week, scientists found that the opposing forces of global warming and the cooling from aerosol-induced "global dimming" can occur at the same time.
"When more sunlight can get through the atmosphere and warm Earth's surface, you're going to have an effect on climate and temperature," said lead author Michael Mishchenko of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York. "Knowing what aerosols are doing globally gives us an important missing piece of the big picture of the forces at work on climate."
The thinning of Earth's "sunscreen" of aerosols since the early 1990s could have given an extra push to the rise in global surface temperatures. The finding, published today in the journal Science, may lead to an improved understanding of recent climate change. In a related study published last week, scientists found that the opposing forces of global warming and the cooling from aerosol-induced "global dimming" can occur at the same time.
"When more sunlight can get through the atmosphere and warm Earth's surface, you're going to have an effect on climate and temperature," said lead author Michael Mishchenko of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York. "Knowing what aerosols are doing globally gives us an important missing piece of the big picture of the forces at work on climate."
Lancaster County is getting own March Madness today, courtesy of Mother Nature.
The county awoke to rain, which turned to slushy sleet, which turned to snow, which was supposed to accumulate 4 to 8 inches by midnight in most areas of the county.
Northern and higher areas of the county could get more snow, maybe close to a foot, said Eric Horst, Millersville University meteorologist.
This late-season snow surge comes, of course, on the heels of near 80-degree weather earlier this week, and ahead of 60-ish weather that's supposed to return next week.
"Whatever snow we get, most of it is gone after the weekend," Horst said. "That's a hallmark of spring storms. It doesn't last."
The county awoke to rain, which turned to slushy sleet, which turned to snow, which was supposed to accumulate 4 to 8 inches by midnight in most areas of the county.
Northern and higher areas of the county could get more snow, maybe close to a foot, said Eric Horst, Millersville University meteorologist.
This late-season snow surge comes, of course, on the heels of near 80-degree weather earlier this week, and ahead of 60-ish weather that's supposed to return next week.
"Whatever snow we get, most of it is gone after the weekend," Horst said. "That's a hallmark of spring storms. It doesn't last."
A catastrophic collapse of the Arctic sea ice could lead to radical climate changes in the northern hemisphere according to scientists who warn that the rapid melting is at a "tipping point" beyond which it may not recover.
The scientists attribute the loss of some 38,000 square miles of sea ice - an area the size of Alaska - to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as to natural variability in Arctic ice.
The scientists attribute the loss of some 38,000 square miles of sea ice - an area the size of Alaska - to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as to natural variability in Arctic ice.
The December 2006-February 2007 U.S. winter season had an overall temperature that was near average, according to scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Precipitation was above average in much of the center of the nation, while large sections of the East, Southeast and West were drier than average. The global average temperature was the warmest on record for the December-February period.
U.S. Temperature Highlights
The winter temperature for the contiguous United States (based on preliminary data) was 33.6 degrees F (0.9 degrees C). The 20th century average is 33.0 degrees F (0.6 degrees C). Statewide temperatures were warmer than average from Florida to Maine and from Michigan to Montana. Cooler-than-average temperatures occurred in the southern Plains and areas of the Southwest.
The 11th warmest December on record occurred in 2006.
U.S. Temperature Highlights
The winter temperature for the contiguous United States (based on preliminary data) was 33.6 degrees F (0.9 degrees C). The 20th century average is 33.0 degrees F (0.6 degrees C). Statewide temperatures were warmer than average from Florida to Maine and from Michigan to Montana. Cooler-than-average temperatures occurred in the southern Plains and areas of the Southwest.
The 11th warmest December on record occurred in 2006.
Geophysicists in Australia think they may have solved the long-standing enigma of how the Andes mountain range was formed. Using computer simulations that model the fluid dynamics and mechanics of tectonic plates, they reckon that the Andes were formed when one tectonic plate in the Pacific slides or "subducts" under a neighbouring plate beneath South America in an uneven fashion. The existence of the Andes has baffled researchers because most other large mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas, have emerged where two plates collide head-on.
All tectonic activity on Earth is driven by subduction zones, where one plate is sucked underneath another into the Earth's mantle. Now, for the first time, a team led by Wouter Schellart at the Australian National University in Canberra has created the first genuine 3D model of how plates move at subduction zones over time.
All tectonic activity on Earth is driven by subduction zones, where one plate is sucked underneath another into the Earth's mantle. Now, for the first time, a team led by Wouter Schellart at the Australian National University in Canberra has created the first genuine 3D model of how plates move at subduction zones over time.
WILKES-BARRE - A one-two punch by Mother Nature will bring moderate flooding along lowlands of the Susquehanna River on Friday and anywhere from six to 12 inches of snow by Saturday afternoon.
Light snow began falling in the Wyoming Valley just before 7:30 a.m. and is expected to increase in intensity throughout the day.
Light snow began falling in the Wyoming Valley just before 7:30 a.m. and is expected to increase in intensity throughout the day.
Winter is going out with a mid-March roar.
After a few days spring temperatures, the city awoke Friday to a wintry mess of snow, icy roads, treacherous commutes and a winter storm warning with forecasts of an angry Nor'easter on the way.
After a few days spring temperatures, the city awoke Friday to a wintry mess of snow, icy roads, treacherous commutes and a winter storm warning with forecasts of an angry Nor'easter on the way.
