Last 15 Postings

Evaluating Community Earth System Model (CESM) Performance (8 April 2016)
It is becoming rather embarrassing -- or at least it should be -- to find the number of significant failures in state-of-the-art climate models penetrating a goodly distance into the double-digit range. And the CESM is no exception...

The Long-term Variability of Floods and Droughts in California (7 April 2016)
Historic records reveal a greater degree of natural hydrologic variability than that seen in the instrumental record...

Coral Calcification in the Face of Large Temperature Variations (7 April 2016)
Studies of real-world corals exposed to real-world temperature changes demonstrate that in many instances the corals are able to do what they need to do, to not only survive, but to live long and prosper...

How Sponges Growing in Turbid Low-Light Conditions Survive (6 April 2016)
A new study highlights "the ability of some sponge species to acclimate to changes in light levels as a result of increased turbidity"...

Plant Growth Database (6 April 2016)
Our latest result of plant growth responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment obtained from experiments described in the peer-reviewed scientific literature is for Black Spruce (Major et al., 2015). To access the entire database, click here.

The Subtropical Ridge as Represented in CMIP5 Climate Models (5 April 2016)
In analyzing this particular aspect of climate modeling, five Australian researchers discovered that the most up-to-date climate models are unable to represent it very well, with a number of unfortunate consequences for rainfall projections in the southeast part of their country...

Ocean Acidification Database (5 April 2016)
The latest addition of peer-reviewed data archived to our database of marine organism responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment is a copepod [Acartia grami ] (Isari et al., 2015). To access the entire database, click here.

Rapid Genetic Response of a Common Forb to Warming and Drought (4 April 2016)
Evolution was once thought to be a very long and tedious process. But new studies of responses of plants to atmospheric CO2 enrichment are demonstrating that, when required, it can sometimes proceed with previously unimagined speed...

Yields and Antioxidants of Cabbage and Lettuce in CO2-Enriched Air (1 April 2016)
What do you think would happen if cabbage and lettuce plants were grown in air containing anywhere from 2.5 to 7.5 times more carbon dioxide than the air of today? Read on to find the answer...

A Plant Pathogen that Can't Take the Heat (31 March 2016)
Rising temperatures appear to spell doom for a dominant plant pathogen that causes tens of millions of dollars in damage to wheat crops in Australia alone...

Effects of CO2-Induced Ocean Acidification on a Common Copepod (31 March 2016)
The tiny sea creatures appear to be able to successfully cope with seawater in contact with some incredibly high atmospheric CO2 concentrations...

Effects of 12 Years of Water Deficit on Tropical Rainforest Trees (30 March 2016)
One would think that in the case of such a long-term environmental stress, the trees in question would be facing inevitable death, if they were not already dead. However, a new study suggests that such thinking could well be wrong...

Plant Growth Database (30 March 2016)
Our latest result of plant growth responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment obtained from experiments described in the peer-reviewed scientific literature is for Garden Pea (Butterly et al., 2015). To access the entire database, click here.

Five Decades of Floods and Flood Risk in the Po River Basin of Italy (28 March 2016)
Although the risk of flooding has increased over the past half-century due to various anthropogenic pressures (e.g. the expansion of urban and industrial areas into dyke-protected floodplains), actual flood events from a climatological or meteorological perspective have not...

How Unusual was the California Nevada Drought of 2012-2015? (28 March 2016)
Four U.S. researchers take on the task of determining the uniqueness (or not) of the great California-Nevada drought that many people are attempting to blame on CO2-induced climate change (i.e. global warming)...