Research
Updates from last week's virtual conference, "The Himalayas: Geopolitics and Ecology of Melting Mountains," that brought together academics and researchers from around the world, including INSTAAR Alton Byers.
A new study coordinated by ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ makes clear the extraordinary speed and scale of increases in energy use, economic productivity and global population that have pushed the Earth towards a new geological epoch, known as the Anthropocene. Distinct physical, chemical and biological changes to Earth’s rock layers began around the year 1950, the research found. Led by Jaia Syvitski, ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ professor emerita and former director of the Institute of Alpine Arctic Research (INSTAAR), the paper, published today in Nature Communications Earth and Environment, documents the natural drivers of environmental change throughout the past 11,700 years—known as the Holocene Epoch—and the dramatic human-caused shifts since 1950. Such planetary-wide changes have altered oceans, rivers, lakes, coastlines, vegetation, soils, chemistry and climate.
The Los Angeles Basin is often thought of as a dry, heavily developed landscape. But a new study in PNAS led by NOAA and the ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ shows that the manicured lawns, emerald golf courses, and trees of America’s second-largest city play a surprisingly large role in its carbon footprint.
Millions of years ago, fire swept across the planet, fueled by an oxygen-rich atmosphere in which even wet forests burned, according to new research by new PhD graduate F. Garrett Boudinot and Julio Sepúlveda. The study, published today in Nature Geoscience, provides geochemical evidence showing that forest fires expanded dramatically, potentially burning up to 30 or 40 percent of global forests during a 100,000 year interval more than 90 million years ago. While today's fires are exacerbated by dry conditions, they found that forest fires during this period increased even in wet regions due to changes in global climate.
Widespread wildfires in the far north aren’t just bigger; they’re different—with strong consequences for the global climate—warn international fire scientists in a commentary published today in Nature Geoscience.
Satellite imagery is useful, but involving local people in research can often help fill gaps in research of glacial floods. Article by Alton Byers in the Nepali Times shares some of the detailed knowledge of local residents who witnessed glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) over the last four decades in the Kangchenjunga area of Nepal.
A new study, led by Martin Miles, finds a trigger for the Little Ice Age that cooled Europe from the 1300s through mid-1800s. The study also supports surprising model results suggesting that under the right conditions sudden climate changes can occur spontaneously, without external forcing.
A new study, led by Alexandra Jahn, shows increased precipitation and ice melt caused by climate change have left Arctic waters less salty. Repercussions will be felt much farther south.
New, first-of-its-kind research from Rory Laiho and Alex Jahn shows that climate change is driving increasing amounts of freshwater in the Arctic Ocean, which will lead to increased freshwater moving into the North Atlantic Ocean, which could disrupt ocean currents and affect temperatures in northern Europe.
Alaska is getting wetter. A new study spells out what that means for the permafrost that underlies about 85% of the state, and the consequences for Earth’s global climate.