Alps could lose most of their glaciers by 2100 Dutch, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 9 April 2019 The Alps are probably the most famous mountain range in Europe. The region, which crosses eight countries in central Europe, includes some of the continent’s highest peaks. The range also has beautiful glaciers, large bodies of dense ice that cover some of the tops and slopes of the Alpine mountains. But these glaciers are at risk from climate change, according to a new study published in the EGU journal The Cryosphere. Read more
What seabirds can tell us about the tide English, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish 29 November 2018 Many nature groups and societies around the world put GPS tags on birds to study their behaviour and movements. This helps scientists learn more about these animals and the information collected can be used to protect bird species. Now, Matt Cooper, a graduate from Bangor University in Wales, and his colleagues, have discovered that GPS information from seabirds can also be used to learn about our oceans. They published their results in the EGU journal Ocean Science. Read more
Impact of bombs from World War II felt at the edge of space English, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish 26 September 2018 University of Reading researchers found that bombing raids not only caused damage on the ground but also shook the Earth’s atmosphere up to the edge of space. Scientists have shown that ‘shockwaves’ produced by the huge bombs dropped by Allied planes on European cities were felt very high up in the Earth’s atmosphere, up to 1000km away. Read more
Building walls underwater to slow down glacier collapse English, French, German, Greek, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish 20 September 2018 To slow down glacier melting, scientists Michael Wolovick and John Moore have come up with an “un-thinkable” idea, called glacial geoengineering. They suggested that we could build columns or walls underwater to support ice shelves and to limit the amount of warm water getting to them. This would prevent the glaciers from losing so much ice, delaying sea-level rise. The results are published in The Cryosphere. Read more
Scientists calculate deadline for climate action English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish 30 August 2018 In a new study published in the EGU journal Earth System Dynamics, a team of scientists from the Netherlands and the UK found that we are running out of time to limit the increase in global temperature to 2° C at the end of the century. They said that we need to act strongly to stop climate change before 2035. Read more
Landslides triggered by humans on the rise Dutch, English, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 23 August 2018 In a new study published in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, UK’s Sheffield University researchers Melanie Froude and David Petley looked at landslides that happened between 2004 and 2016 all around the world. They focused on fatal landslides, that is, those that caused deaths. They wanted to understand where landslides were harming people most and why they happen. Read more
When ice shelves collapse, sea level can rise. But by how much? Dutch, English, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 19 July 2018 The Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost part of Antarctica, has been warming rapidly in recent years. This has put some of the peninsula’s ice shelves – including two called Larsen C and George VI – at risk of collapse. In a new study published in the EGU journal The Cryosphere, an international team of scientists calculated how much sea-level rise would result from the collapse of these two ice shelves. Read more
Oxygen levels in Baltic Sea at 1500-year low Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 5 July 2018 Researchers who published their work in the EGU journal Biogeosciences have discovered that the oxygen problem in the coastal waters of the Baltic sea is more serious than previously thought. The new research shows that during the past 100 years or so the coastal Baltic Sea lost oxygen at a rate that had not been seen in 1500 years! Read more
Surprising findings from a hurricane in Texas Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 19 April 2018 In late August 2017, a very strong storm, called Hurricane Harvey, hit southeast Texas in the United States (US). The storm caused massive floods, and it killed dozens of people. Researchers in Texas and in the Netherlands studied how the victims died due to Harvey and published their results in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. They found that 80% of victims died from drowning. Read more
Parts of ozone layer not recovering as expected Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish 6 February 2018 In a new study published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, researchers revealed that while the ozone layer is recovering at the poles, this is not happening at latitudes between about 60°S and 60°N. Read more
Climate made people move to America Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish 21 November 2017 In new research published in the journal Climate of the Past, scientists from the University of Freiburg in Germany say that, during the 19th century, climate was one of the major factors that pushed people to move out of Southwest Germany and into North America. Read more
Palm oil is making Indonesia warmer Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish 25 October 2017 A new study, published in Biogeosciences and led by Clifton Sabajo and Alexander Knohl from the University of Goettingen in Germany, shows that cutting down native forests to plant palm-oil trees is making Indonesia warmer. Read more
New threat to the ozone layer Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 12 October 2017 The ozone gas shield in the Earth’s atmosphere protects us from receiving too much dangerous ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun. An international team of scientists has now discovered a new threat to the ozone layer. Read more
Remove carbon dioxide from the air or risk young people’s future Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish 18 July 2017 According to a team of scientists led by James Hansen, a professor at the Columbia University Earth Institute in the US, formerly at NASA, we need to remove some of the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere to limit global warming to a level that would safeguard children’s futures. Read more
High altitudes help slow down Antarctica’s warming Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 18 May 2017 When it comes to climate change, the Arctic and the Antarctic are poles apart. At the north of the planet, temperatures are increasing twice as fast as in the rest of the globe, while warming in Antarctica has been milder. A new study published in Earth System Dynamics shows that the high elevation of Antarctica might help explain why the two poles are warming at different speeds. Read more
Rising seas and erosion spell trouble for coral reefs Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 20 April 2017 Coral reefs can usually be found in shallow, clear waters in tropical oceans. They might look like they are made up of rocks, but they are actually live organisms that need sunlight to survive. If the sea level rises too fast, the corals can’t grow fast enough to keep up. If the water gets too deep, corals can’t get the sunlight they need. And that’s not all that cause trouble for corals. Read more
Less snow and a shorter ski season in the Alps Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 16 February 2017 A new research study, published in the scientific journal The Cryosphere by Swiss scientists, shows that large parts of the Swiss Alps could lose up to 70% of snow cover by 2100. However, if humans manage to control greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming, only about 30% of snow cover will be lost Read more
The coldest decade of the millennium Dutch, English, French, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 1 December 2016 The temperature at the surface of our planet is increasing and we are likely to experience warmer decades in the future. But if we go back in time, all the way to the 15th century, a different type of change in weather and climate resulted in the coldest decade of the millennium: the 1430s. Read more
Antarctic explorations 100 years ago tell us where sea ice was found Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish 24 November 2016 During expeditions some 100 years ago, Antarctic explorers kept a ship’s log book where they would write down observations, including about the weather and sea conditions. Modern day scientists have now used these records to learn where sea ice (frozen sea water) was found in the waters around Antarctica. Read more
How are melting glaciers affecting people in Bolivia? Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 20 October 2016 Due to climate change, glaciers around the world are shrinking. Global temperatures are increasing, which causes the glaciers to melt more and more. Scientists in the UK and Bolivia have published a new study in The Cryosphere that used images from satellites to see how these glaciers are changing. Read more
Loss of Arctic sea ice affecting all polar bears Dutch, English, French, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 14 September 2016 In a new study, published in The Cryosphere and funded by NASA, researchers at the University of Washington have found that sea ice is now melting earlier in the spring and freezing later in the autumn across all regions of the Arctic where polar bears live. Read more
Using ocean and weather data to find MH370 Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish 27 July 2016 Eric Jansen, a researcher at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change in Italy, and his team have used a computer model to find out where the Malaysian airlines MH370 plane might have crashed. Read more
Fire clues in cave dripwater Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish 21 July 2016 Researchers in Australia and the UK have found that stalagmites and stalactites can be used to help trace past wildfires that burned above the cave. Fires change the chemistry of the water above ground, and these subtle changes leave traces in the stalactites and stalagmites that form when the water drips in the caves underground. Read more
What’s the highest peak in US Arctic? New technique gives the answer Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish 23 June 2016 Kit DesLauriers joined forces with US scientist Matt Nolan to settle a debate of more than 50 years, while testing a new technique in a steep mountainous region. Read more
Half a degree makes a world of difference Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish 21 April 2016 The climate of our planet is changing, and the Earth is warming up. World leaders have discussed whether we should limit the average temperature increase in our planet to 1.5°C or 2°C. There’s only half a degree of difference between these two temperature limits, but scientists have now discovered that they would each have very different consequences for our planet. Read more
Fishing with smartphones for science Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish 29 February 2016 Researchers Rolf Hut and Tim van Emmerik from the Netherlands and Scott Tyler from the US have now developed smart waders that still keep you dry but also collect valuable information about the water to help scientists study streams. Read more
Radioactive truffles? Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish 25 February 2016 A group of scientists, led by Ulf Büntgen from Switzerland, decided to check whether one type of popular truffles, called Burgundy truffles, are radioactive. Read more
Studying glaciers with animated satellite images Croatian, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 26 November 2015 Frank Paul, a scientist from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, has come up with a simple method to allow us to see glacier movements and changes, using the Karakoram mountain range in central Asia as an example. He created GIF animations from satellite images of the region. Read more
Fighting for cleaner air and a more stable climate Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 24 September 2015 Emissions of carbon dioxide are only part of the climate change problem. There are other substances, called short-lived pollutants, that we should pay attention to as well, especially because they could also be important in reducing air pollution. Read more
Tsunamis in the Mediterranean Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish 27 August 2015 A team of European researchers, led by Achilleas Samaras, a Greek researcher working in Italy, has created a new computer model that looks at how parts of Italy and Greece would be affected if a tsunami was triggered after a large earthquake in the Eastern Mediterranean. Read more
What does West Antarctica’s future look like? Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish 18 August 2015 Stephen Cornford from the UK, Dan Martin from the US, and other researchers from around the world have used a powerful computer simulation to see how West Antarctica might look like in the future, and how much it could contribute to global sea-level rise. Read more
Hair ice mystery solved Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish 22 July 2015 Did you know that there is a type of ice called hair ice? It is shaped like fine, silky hairs and looks like white candy floss. It grows on the rotten branches of broad-leaf trees during humid winter nights when the air temperature drops slightly below 0°C. A 100-year old theory states that hair ice also needs something else to grow – a fungus – but, until now, no one had managed to confirm this. Read more
Floods as war weapons Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish 9 June 2015 Most floods are natural events that can happen when it rains a lot in a short period of time, or when there’s a storm surge (rising sea water due to stormy winds that can flood coastal areas). But a new study shows that some past floods in the Netherlands had entirely different causes. Read more
Glacier changes at the top of the world Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish 27 May 2015 The Himalayas (South Asia) are home to the largest volume of ice outside the polar regions. The Dudh Kosi basin in Nepal Himalaya hosts some of the world’s highest mountain peaks, including Mt Everest, and a huge number of glaciers. A team of scientists have been researching how sensitive these glaciers could be to future climate change. Read more
Ice shelf melting from above and below Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish 13 May 2015 A team of scientists, led by Paul Holland from the British Antarctic Survey, has discovered that an ice shelf in Antarctica, at the very south of our planet, is melting not only from its surface, but also from underneath. Read more
Uninhabitable whirlpools found in the Atlantic Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish 30 April 2015 Researchers have found whirling areas of incredibly low oxygen in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Oxygen is vital to much of life on Earth, and without it, animals like fish and crabs can’t survive. Read more
Travelling pollution Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish 31 March 2015 When we think of rainforests, we imagine remote regions of natural beauty, with pure air and none of the atmospheric pollution that we see in the big cities. However, an international team of researchers has found evidence of manmade pollution deep inside the rainforest of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Read more
Water, key to survival of Roman Empire Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish 11 December 2014 Since the Mediterranean region is often very dry, it was not easy to grow food, such as grain (wheat, oats and other cereals), in some parts of the Empire. Yet, the Romans managed to ensure that the people in their cities had enough food all year round. Scientist Brian Dermody wanted to find out how the Empire survived for so long in the challenging environment of the Mediterranean. Read more
How tall are the ice sheets? Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish 20 August 2014 By bouncing powerful radar beams from a satellite, a German team of scientists have created very detailed maps of how the height changes across the ice sheets. Read more
Wonders of the deep sea Croatian, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 29 July 2014 US scientist Andrew Thurber got an international team of researchers together to tell everyone about the deep sea, and why we should protect it. Read more
Satellites and sea ice Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 22 July 2014 A team of scientists lead by the American Ian Eisenman has suggested that maybe the amount of sea ice in the Antarctic hasn’t been increasing as fast as people had thought. Read more
Art reveals secrets about Earth’s past atmosphere English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 25 March 2014 Christos Zerefos and his team of Greek and German researchers have recently found that the colours of sunsets painted by artists as far back as 1500 can actually tell us how polluted the atmosphere was in the past! Read more
Fastest glacier ever! English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 3 February 2014 The Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier has always been fast – even in the 1990s it was considered to be one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world – but American and German scientists have confirmed that it is now moving at almost four times its previous speed! Read more
Ancient forests kept Earth’s climate under control Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 23 January 2014 In the last 24 million years, conditions on Earth meant that there could have been very low levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – which could have led to very cold conditions – but did not. Scientists have been asking why this was, and a team of researchers in the UK may have now found an answer. Read more
More droughts in Europe? Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 9 January 2014 Italian scientist Giovanni Forzieri and his team of researchers have predicted more extreme weather in the next 80 years: they say that droughts in Europe could happen on a more regular basis and become more severe. Read more
Is reflecting sunlight a solution for climate change? English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish 5 December 2013 New research shows that if geoengineers try to reflect some of the sunlight from the Earth to slow climate change, they may actually cause bigger problems in terms of the Earth’s climate. Read more
Using cars to measure rainfall English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish 28 November 2013 A team of scientists in Germany took the idea of windscreen wipers getting rid of rain to come up with a new way to measure rainfall. Read more
How do pigeons find home? English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish 5 November 2013 Hans Wallraff, a German ornithologist (someone who studies birds), has suggested that pigeons use wind directions and smells in the air to find their way home. Read more
A breath of fresh (1.5 million year old!) air English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish 5 November 2013 Scientists drilling for ice in Antarctica have been able to find ice with bubbles up to 800,000 years old, but now they want to find out what Earth’s atmosphere was like before then. Swiss-based scientist Hubertus Fischer and other researchers want to find ice that is up to 1.5 million years old, so that they can study really old air to know what the Earth’s climate was like even further in the past. Read more
Animals, plants and changing climate English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish 8 October 2013 German researchers have predicted that over 80% of the world’s animals and plants living on ice-free land are at risk of big changes in the next 80 years. Read more
