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arctic
NASA’s ARISE studies climate impacts of Arctic sea ice loss
The Arctic Radiation-IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment (ARISE) field campaign investigates the effects of sea ice retreat on the Arctic climate, by conducting research flights during the peak of summer sea ice melt in September. The collected data comprise sea ice conditions, incoming solar and outgoing thermal radiation as well as clouds, which also helps verifying satellite measurements.
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antarctic
Polar research: Six priorities for Antarctic science
The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), comprised of 75 scientists and policy-makers from 22 countries, formulated in April 2014 the priorities for Antarctic research for the next twenty years. They identified 80 most pressing scientific questions, falling broadly into six themes. These include the global reach of the Antarctic region, ice sheet mass loss, and Antarctic ecosystems.
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high impact events
Amplified mid-latitude planetary waves favour particular regional weather extremes
While extreme weather events have ostensibly increased in frequency in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes during the past decades, the question remains as to whether this is of natural or anthropogenic origin. This study shows that months of extreme mid-latitude weather are accompanied by significantly amplified quasi-stationary mid-tropospheric planetary waves. The effect depends on the geographical region and the type of extreme weather.
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Climate change impacts on wildfires in a Mediterranean environment
Scientists at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) have analysed the climate-driven changes in summer wildfires over the past 40 years and their future evolution in North-eastern Spain. The study finds that the observed fire number was negative, although positive improvements in fire management have not been taken into account.
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sea level
Detection time for global and regional sea level trends and accelerations
Sea level data is often analysed with the purpose of identifying a long-term trend attributable to anthropogenic climate change. The identification is a signal-to-noise problem, depending on the magnitude of the long-term trend and the natural variability, as well as the length of the record. This study evaluates the time required to detect centennial sea level trends of varying degrees at global and regional scales.
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hydrological cycles
Assessing climate change impacts on the quantity of water in Alpine regions
The five-year EU/FP7 “ACQWA” project (Assessing Climate Impacts on the Quantity and quality of WAter), which ended in September 2013, focused on upstream-downstream links related to water resources in mountains. Snow and ice are major components of the hydrological cycle in these regions, and thus extremely vulnerable to climatic changes. The upcoming special issue of “Environmental Science and Policy” is dedicated to the policy implications of the project.
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