When a small pebble drops into a serene pool of water, it causes a ripple in the water in every direction, even disturbing distant still waters. NASA researchers have found a similar process at work in the atmosphere: tiny particles in the air called aerosols can cause a rippling effect on the climate thousands of miles away from their source region.
The researchers found that dust particles from the desert regions in northern Africa can produce climate changes as far away as the northern Pacific Ocean. Large quantities of dust from North Africa are injected into the atmosphere by dust storms and rising air. Airborne dust absorbs sunlight and heats the atmosphere. The heating effect ripples through the atmosphere, affecting surface and air temperatures as the dust travels.
Earth Changes
It's been a good week for environmentalists. Al Gore is headed for Hollywood's red carpet thanks to an Oscar nomination for "An Inconvenient Truth", a big-screen adaptation of his slide-show lecture on climate change. And even U.S. President George W. Bush, long known as a friend to the oil industry, has been waxing green. In his State of the Union speech yesterday, he urged Americans to cut their gasoline use by 20 percent over the next decade and called for tighter vehicle fuel efficiency standards.
NEW DELHI - A forthcoming U.N. report on climate change will provide the most credible evidence yet of a human link to global warming and hopefully shock the world into taking more action, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said on Thursday.
The IPCC report, due for release on Feb. 2 in Paris, draws on research by 2,500 scientists from more than 130 countries and has taken six years to compile.
The IPCC report, due for release on Feb. 2 in Paris, draws on research by 2,500 scientists from more than 130 countries and has taken six years to compile.
After weeks of rain and unprecedented high temperatures, cold and snow has finally hit back in central Russia, sending bears finally to their winter slumber and endangering other hibernating species like hedgehogs.
"As soon as snow covered the earth, the brown bear that stayed awake all this time returned to his lair and fell asleep," the Moscow zoo's spokesman said Thursday as quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency.
"As soon as snow covered the earth, the brown bear that stayed awake all this time returned to his lair and fell asleep," the Moscow zoo's spokesman said Thursday as quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency.
ST. PETERSBURG - Rising levels of carbon dioxide and other gases emitted through human activities, believed by scientists to trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, are an effect rather than the cause of global warming, a prominent Russian scientist said Monday.
Habibullo Abdusamatov, head of the space research laboratory at the St. Petersburg-based Pulkovo Observatory, said global warming stems from an increase in the sun's activity. His view contradicts the international scientific consensus that climate change is attributable to the emission of greenhouse gases generated by industrial activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
Habibullo Abdusamatov, head of the space research laboratory at the St. Petersburg-based Pulkovo Observatory, said global warming stems from an increase in the sun's activity. His view contradicts the international scientific consensus that climate change is attributable to the emission of greenhouse gases generated by industrial activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
TAIPEI, Taiwan - A strong earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Taiwan Thursday, rocking buildings in the capital Taipei.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The Central Weather Bureau measured the quake at 6.2-magnitude.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The Central Weather Bureau measured the quake at 6.2-magnitude.
Anchorage, Alaska - Anchorage has been hit with more than 74 inches of snow this season, and according to the city, it's reaching a crisis level, with snow removal on the streets becoming a big problem.
The roads are looking smaller these days around town, as two-lane roads are quickly becoming one. The city can plow the roads, but where it can remove the snow to another location is a problem.
The roads are looking smaller these days around town, as two-lane roads are quickly becoming one. The city can plow the roads, but where it can remove the snow to another location is a problem.
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| ©Accuweather.com |
| This is "Global Warming"? |
Taipei - A strong earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, seismologists and police said.
'The quake with a depth of 5 kilometres occurred undersea at 6:59 pm (1059 GMT). It was located 61.9 kilometres south-east of Taitung in eastern Taiwan,' the Earthquake Centre under the Central Weather Bureau said in a news release.
'The quake with a depth of 5 kilometres occurred undersea at 6:59 pm (1059 GMT). It was located 61.9 kilometres south-east of Taitung in eastern Taiwan,' the Earthquake Centre under the Central Weather Bureau said in a news release.
THE strange death of 11 seagulls in Aylesbury remains unresolved this week, despite investigations by wildlife experts.
The Bucks Herald launched an inquiry after we were contacted by a number of readers who discovered the dead birds - all in the Southcourt area of the town.
The Bucks Herald launched an inquiry after we were contacted by a number of readers who discovered the dead birds - all in the Southcourt area of the town.
Comment: See: Fire and Ice: The Day After Tomorrow...