PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

A century of human impact on Arctic climate indicated by new models, historic aerosol data

2013-09-12
(Press-News.org) (RENO): The Arctic is the most rapidly warming region of the globe, but warming has not been uniform and the drivers behind this warming not fully understood even during the 20th century.

A new study authored by Canadian and American investigators and published in Scientific Reports, a primary research publication from the publishers of Nature, suggests that both anthropogenic and natural factors – specifically sulphate aerosols from industrial activity and volcanic emissions, in addition to greenhouse gas releases from fossil fuel burning – account for Arctic surface temperature variations from 1900 to the present.

Using new climate model simulations evaluated alongside the most recent surface temperature records and historical aerosol records contained in ice cores (collected and analyzed by an international team of researchers working at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada) the authors demonstrate that contributions from greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions, along with explosive volcanic eruptions, explain most of the observed variation in Arctic surface temperature over the last century.

"Unlike greenhouse gases, aerosols are short-lived in the atmosphere." said Joe McConnell, a research professor at the Desert Research Institute who oversees DRI's unique ultra-trace ice core analytical laboratory. "In order to understand their role in global climate you have to employ an array of sample sites and measurements. The records used in this study are part of a much larger array of historical aerosol records we are developing from ice cores collected from throughout the polar regions."

McConnell adds that this new study, resulting from collaboration between Canadian and American environmental researchers utilizing state-of-the-art climate models and ice core analytical techniques, demonstrates the importance of aerosols in climate forcing.

The authors attribute warming from 1900-1939 to rapidly rising black carbon emissions, diminishing influence of the Santa Maria volcanic eruption in 1902, and warming North Atlantic sea surface temperatures. Cooling from 1939 to 1970 is attributed to cooling from anthropogenic sulfate aerosol emissions the Agung volcanic eruption in 1963, and falling North Atlantic surface temperatures.

More recently, the authors attribute warming from 1970 to present to increased anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with a smaller contribution from warming North Atlantic sea surface temperatures.

Understanding the causes of Arctic climate change during this period is critical, said McConnell, because of the associated environmental and economic impacts.



INFORMATION:



Additional information:

The paper is titled "One hundred years of Arctic surface temperature variation due to anthropogenic influence" and is co-authored by John C. Fyfe-1, Knut von Salzen-1, Nathan P. Gillett-1, Vivek K. Arora-1, Gregory M. Flato-1 and Joseph R. McConnell-2.

1-Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment Canada, Victoria BC. V8W 3R4, Canada, 2-Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno NV, 89512, USA.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Acetylcholine secretion by motor neuron-like cells from UC-MSC

2013-09-12
Basic fibroblast growth factor exhibits a high affinity for heparin. Heparin combined with basic fibroblast growth factor significantly contributes to the differentiation of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into motor neurons. Xueyuan Liu and colleagues from Liaoning Medical University found that the third passage of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells induced with heparin and basic fibroblast growth factor exhibited neuronal morphology, and Hb9 expression and acetylcholine levels increased following induction with heparin combined with basic fibroblast growth factor. ...

Does longer sevoflurane preconditioning contribute to better neuroprotective effects?

2013-09-12
Sevoflurane belongs to volatile anesthetics, and preconditioning with sevoflurane has been shown to exert protective effects against ischemic injury in the brain. But the mechanism is unclear. Although studies have shown the neuroprotective effects of sevoflurane preconditioning in the transient cerebral ischemia model, its effect in the permanent focal cerebral ischemia model remains unclear. Dr. Qiu and colleagues from Sichuan University found that 60-minute sevoflurane preconditioning significantly reduced the infarct volume and the number of apoptotic cells in the ischemic ...

Inner ear hair cell regeneration: A look from the past to the future

2013-09-12
Since Moffat and Ramsden for the first time discovered the possibility of the auditory system in humans in 1977, over the last two decades, great progress has been made in physiopathological research on neurosensory hearing loss. Jørgensen and Mathiesen were the first authors to note the capacity for regeneration of the normal vestibular epithelium in adult Australian parrots. Later, Roberson et al studied the normal vestibular epithelium of 12-day-old white Leghorn chicks using tritiated thymidine and bromodeoxyuridine. Francisco Santaolalla and colleagues from Basurto ...

Researchers hit virtual heads to make safer games

2013-09-12
PULLMAN, Wash. – Two nearly identical softballs, both approved for league play, can have dramatically different effects when smacked into a player's head. Those are the findings from a study conducted by Professor Lloyd Smith in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and project engineer Derek Nevins that they will present at the Asia Pacific Congress on Sports Technology later this month in Hong Kong. Their work was published in the journal, Procedia Engineering. Smith's group developed a unique model of a softball that they electronically throw at a virtual ...

The efficient choice among combustion engines

2013-09-12
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an internal combustion engine that emits less than half the CO2 compared to a regular engine without compromising performance. This corresponds to fuel consumption of less than 2.4l per 100km. This natural gas-diesel hybrid engine is based on a system of sophisticated control engineering. The global energy markets are changing. New extraction methods are tapping into oilfields and natural gas deposits that have been inaccessible until now. The US, for example, is able to cover up to 83% of its total energy needs today; the government ...

Delaying climate policy would triple short-term mitigation costs

2013-09-12
Higher costs would in turn increase the threshold for decision-makers to start the transition to a low-carbon economy. Thus, to keep climate targets within reach it seems to be most relevant to not further postpone mitigation, the researchers conclude. "The transitional economic repercussions that would result if the switch towards a climate-friendly economy is delayed, are comparable to the costs of the financial crisis the world just experienced," lead-author Gunnar Luderer says. The later climate policy implementation starts, the faster – hence the more expensive – ...

Pulsating dust cloud dynamics modeled

2013-09-12
The birth of stars is an event that eludes intuitive understanding. It is the collapse of dense molecular clouds under their own weight that offers the best sites of star formation. Now, Pralay Kumar Karmakar from the Department of Physics at Tezpur University, Assam province, India, and his colleague have proposed a new model for investigating molecular cloud fluctuations at sites of star formation and thus are able to study their pulsational dynamics, in a paper published in EPJ D. Dust molecular clouds are a type of astrophysical plasmas, which are composed of a primordial ...

More than just type 1 or type 2: DiMelli study points to different forms of diabetes

2013-09-12
The DiMelli (Diabetes Mellitus Incidence Cohort Registry) study examines the frequency and characteristics of diabetes phenotypes in children and young adults below the age of 20. The study was commissioned to investigate the increasing incidence of diabetes mellitus, particularly in childhood and early adulthood. The project is funded by the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD). Bioprobe measurements were performed centrally by the Central Medical Laboratory (LMZ) at the Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU) so as to guarantee the high quality and comparability of laboratory ...

Codeine could increase users' sensitivity to pain

2013-09-12
Using large and frequent doses of the pain-killer codeine may actually produce heightened sensitivity to pain, without the same level of relief offered by morphine, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. Researchers in the Discipline of Pharmacology have conducted what is believed to be the world's first experimental study comparing the pain relieving and pain worsening effects of both codeine and morphine. The University's Professor Paul Rolan, who is also a headache specialist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, says codeine has been widely used as ...

Dogs' behavior could help to design social robots

2013-09-12
Designers of social robots, take note. Bring your dog to the lab next time you test a prototype, and watch how your pet interacts with it. You might just learn a thing or two that could help you fine-tune future designs. So says Gabriella Lakatos of the Hungarian Academy of Science and Eötvös Loránd University, lead author of a study¹ published in Springer's journal Animal Cognition that found that man's best friend reacts sociably to robots that behave socially towards them, even if the devices look nothing like a human. This animal behavior study tested the reaction ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain

ECOG-ACRIN appoints seven researchers to scientific committee leadership positions

New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement

Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

[Press-News.org] A century of human impact on Arctic climate indicated by new models, historic aerosol data