Cold temperatures linked to volanic eruptions

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esearchers find new evidence that large eruptions were responsible for cold temperature extremes recorded since early Roman times.

It is well known that large volcanic eruptions contribute to climate variability. However, quantifying these contributions has proven challenging due to inconsistencies in both historic atmospheric data observed in polar ice cores and corresponding temperature variations seen in climate indicators such as tree rings.

Read the Environmental News Network story - “Ice cores show volcanic eruptions and cold climat strongly linked”.

Important water source is disappearing - single digit snowpacks

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elting snow is an important source of water for many people in many part of the world.

And now the Environmental News Network tells us that nine American states have reported record low snowpacks.

It says, “A report from the US Department of Agriculture states, ‘the largest snowpack deficits are in record territory for many basins, especially in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada where single – digit percent of normal conditions prevail’.”

The story  - “Record low snowpacks in Southwest is bad news for water supplies” – says, “Very low snowpacks are reported in most of Washington, all of Oregon, Nevada, California, parts of Arizona, much of Idaho, parts of New Mexico, three basins in Wyoming, one basin in Montana, and most of Utah.”

Prof Karoly tells it like it is, including the subtleties and intricacies

David Karoly was the first fellow to help me grasp the subtleties and intricacies of human carbon dioxide emissions.

Prof David Karoly.

Professor Karoly, who spoke in Shepparton in 2011, is an internationally recognised expert in climate change and climate variability, including greenhouse climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion and interannual climate variations due to El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

He was heavily involved in preparation of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released in 2007, in several different roles.

The professor is a member of the new Climate Change Authority in Australia and is also a member of the Science Advisory Panel to the Australian Climate Commission, the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, and the Joint Scientific Committee, which provides oversight of the World Climate Research Programme.

Professor Karoly joined the University of Melbourne’s School of Earth Sciences in May 2007 as an ARC Federation Fellow funded by the Australian government. 

It he who explained in 2011 that although carbon dioxide emissions are natural, the comparatively miniscule amount the humans are contributing through burning fossils fuels is clearly sufficient to disrupt the remarkably fine balance of gases in out earth’s atmosphere.

And now the Environmental News Network even helps a little more this latest story headed: “Getting a better handle on CO2, NASA will help!”

With fossil fuels being the villain in this dilemma, the ENN story tells us that: “… our use of fossil fuels is increasing exponentially, with more than half of all fossil fuels ever used by humans being consumed in the last 20 years”.