News tagged with climate
Researchers conclude that climate change led to collapse of ancient Indus civilization
A new study combining the latest archaeological evidence with state-of-the-art geoscience technologies provides evidence that climate change was a key ingredient in the collapse of the great Indus or Harappan Civilization ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 28, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (15) |
21
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Bering Strait may be global temperature stabilizer
(Phys.org) -- A diverse group of climate researchers has found after running computer simulations that the strait that separates North America and Russia might be serving as a global temperature stabilizer. ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 10, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (10) |
61
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Researchers say habitat loss and tropical cooling were to blame for mass extinction
(Phys.org) -- The second-largest mass extinction in Earth's history coincided with a short but intense ice age during which enormous glaciers grew and sea levels dropped. Although it has long been agreed that ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 10, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
14
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Thawing permafrost 50 million years ago led to extreme global warming events
In a new study reported in Nature, climate scientist Rob DeConto of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and colleagues elsewhere propose a simple new mechanism to explain the source of carbon that fed a ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 04, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (28) |
47
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Hunters, not climate change, killed giant beasts 40,000 years ago
The first Australians hunted giant kangaroos, rhinoceros-sized marsupials, huge goannas and other megafauna to extinction shortly after arriving in the country more than 40,000 years ago, new research claims.
Mar 22, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (12) |
25
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Discovery of historical photos sheds light on Greenland ice loss
A chance discovery of 80-year-old photo plates in a Danish basement is providing new insight into how Greenland glaciers are melting today.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
19 hours ago |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
3
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Land and sea species differ in climate change response: study
(Phys.org) -- Marine and terrestrial species will likely differ in their responses to climate warming, new research by Simon Fraser University and Australia’s University of Tasmania has found.
May 27, 2012 |
4.2 / 5 (6) |
14
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Yale study concludes public apathy over climate change unrelated to science literacy
Are members of the public divided about climate change because they don't understand the science behind it? If Americans knew more basic science and were more proficient in technical reasoning, would public consensus match ...
May 27, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (12) |
80
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Global warming winner: Once rare butterfly thrives
(AP) -- Global warming is rescuing the once-rare brown Argus butterfly, scientists say.
May 24, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
3
Gourmet butterflies speed north: study
A new study led by scientists in the Department of Biology at the University of York has shown how a butterfly has changed its diet, and consequently has sped northwards in response to climate change. Their study is published ...
May 24, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
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Rapid coral death by a deadly chain reaction
(Phys.org) -- Most people are fascinated by the colorful and exotic coral reefs, which form habitats with probably the largest biodiversity. But human civilisation is the top danger to these fragile ecosystems ...
May 24, 2012 |
4.2 / 5 (5) |
6
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Study reveals trade patterns for crucial substance played key role in Maya collapse
Shifts in exchange patterns provide a new perspective on the fall of inland Maya centers in Mesoamerica approximately 1,000 years ago. This major historical process, sometimes referred to as the "Maya collapse" has puzzled ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 23, 2012 |
3.7 / 5 (7) |
0
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Desert dust intensifies summer rainfall in U.S. southwest
(Phys.org) -- Dust is more than something to be brushed off the furniture. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that dust kicked up from the desert floor acts like a heat pump in the atmosphere, ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 21, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
4
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Toxic mercury, accumulating in the Arctic, springs from a hidden source
(Phys.org) -- Environmental scientists at Harvard have discovered that the Arctic accumulation of mercury, a toxic element, is caused by both atmospheric forces and the flow of circumpolar rivers that carry ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 21, 2012 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
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Climate scientists say they have solved riddle of rising sea
Massive extraction of groundwater can resolve a puzzle over a rise in sea levels in past decades, scientists in Japan said on Sunday.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 20, 2012 |
4.2 / 5 (25) |
32
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Climate can be contrasted to weather, which is the present condition of these same elements over periods up to two weeks.
The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, altitude, ice or snow cover, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents. Climates can be classified according to the average and typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and rainfall. The most commonly used classification scheme is the one originally developed by Wladimir Köppen. The Thornthwaite system, in use since 1948, incorporates evapotranspiration in addition to temperature and precipitation information and is used in studying animal species diversity and potential impacts of climate changes. The Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses defining the climate for certain areas.
Paleoclimatology is the study and description of ancient climates. Since direct observations of climate are not available before the 19th century, paleoclimates are inferred from proxy variables that include non-biotic evidence such as sediments found in lake beds and ice cores, and biotic evidence such as tree rings and coral. Climate models are mathematical models of past, present and future climates.
For more information about Climate, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
