news 2014

Reducing deforestation in the tropics would significantly cut the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere - by as much as one-fifth - research shows. In the first study of its kind, scientists have calculated the amount of carbon absorbed by the world’s tropical forests and the amounts of greenhouse gas emissions created by loss of trees, as a result of human activity.

  University scientists have concluded that Britain's urban rivers are the cleanest they've been in over two decades. The 21-year study of over 2300 rivers measured the presence of clean-river invertebrates - a yardstick for river health - which during the days of heavy industry and poor sewage treatment had declined considerably, but now appear to be making a comeback.

Researchers have tracked how media coverage can affect levels of public interest in climate science by comparing volumes of searches for climate change issues on Google's search engine. They analysed data available on Google Trends between 2004 and 2013, looking in particular at the period around 'climategate' and the discovery of an error in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report on the melting of Himalayan glaciers.

Press release issued: 18 May 2014 New research has shown for the first time that the amount of water flowing through rivers in snow-affected regions depends significantly on how much of the precipitation falls as snowfall. This means in a warming climate, if less of the precipitation falls as snow, rivers will discharge less water than they currently do.

A new study has shed light on the first step of cloud formation, revealing that organic oxides - such as the molecule responsible for giving pine forests their smell - are a vital ingredient. The CLOUD experiment (Cosmic Leaving OUtdoor Droplets), conducted at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland by an international team, including academics from the University of Leeds, will help scientists to better understand the effect that clouds have on climate change.

Scientists have announced the findings of the first study on the connection between the El Niño and global crop yield fluctuations, providing a new tool for adapting food security to climate change. Study co-author Professor Andy Challinor, from the School of Earth & Environment at the University of Leeds, said: “The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report highlighted that we expect a decrease in the year-to-year stability of our food supply and that we need to act now to safeguard food production in the future.

Butterflies and dragonflies with lighter colours are out-competing darker-coloured insects in the face of climate change. In a new study published , scientists from Imperial College London , Philipps-University Marburg and University of Copenhagen have shown that as the climate warms across Europe, communities of butterflies and dragonflies consist of more lighter coloured species.

The research showed that the woody growth of forests in north Borneo is half as great again as the most productive forests of north-west Amazonia. Whilst regional variation in wood production rates has been suspected, this research is the first to use identical methods in Amazonia and Borneo to measure properties of both the forests and their soils, making robust comparisons among different continents possible for the first time.

Press release issued: 7 May 2014 A network of integrated greenhouse gas measurements in the UK and Ireland - the first of its kind in Europe - has been awarded renewed funding of £918,000 for continued operation. The UK DECC (Deriving Emissions linked to Climate Change) Network was launched in 2011 by researchers at the University of Bristol, led by Professor Simon O'Doherty in the Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group.

A new study has shed fresh light on how climate change will affect global biodiversity by exploring different measurements of climate change together. Scientists use climate change metrics, such as changes in seasonality or the emergence of new climates, to predict how climate change will impact biodiversity levels.

Lead is not an essential component of a new kind of low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell, new experiments show. A team led by researchers at Oxford University has demonstrated that the lead in solar cells based on lead halide perovskites can be replaced with tin. Perovskite solar cells, pioneered by the Oxford team, promise to be cheap and easy to mass produce and have already achieved a 17% efficiency at turning sunlight into electricity after just two years of research - potentially transforming prospects for cheap large-area solar energy generation.

Soils under Britain's allotments are significantly healthier than intensively farmed soils First study to show that growing at small-scale in urban areas produces food sustainably without damaging soils Authors say planning and policy makers should promote urban own-growing as a sustainable way of meeting increasing food demand An increase in urban allotments could help us meet the rising demand for food throughout the world, without damaging the Earth's soils, according to new research from the University of Sheffield.

Study of western Andes of Columbia found letting cattle pastures grow as forests could help wildlife and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere Farmers could make the same or more money growing carbon instead of cows 33 of 40 endangered bird species found in secondary forests Changing cattle fields to forests is a cheap way of tackling climate change and saving species threatened with extinction, a new study has found.

Sussex scientist helps create the first computer model of all life on Earth A Sussex ecologist is among a team of scientists who have created a pioneering computer model that can predict the futures of all of the Earth's ecosystems and could help to address key environmental concerns.

A team of international scientists has found organic soil frozen to the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet for 2.7 million years. The discovery provides strong evidence that the ice sheet has persisted for much longer than previously thought, enduring many periods of past global warming. Glaciers have traditionally been thought to operate like sanding machines, scraping off everything from vegetation, soil and even the top layer of bedrock as they move over the land.

In a time of global climate change and rapidly disappearing habitat critical to the survival of countless endangered species, there is a heightened sense of urgency to confirm the return of animals thought to be extinct, or to confirm the presence of newly discovered species. Field biologists traditionally collect specimens to distinguish the animals — or to confirm that they do indeed exist in the wild.

Press release issued: 16 April 2014 Considering the impacts of climate change on flood risk may not be effective unless current risk is managed better, according to new research from the University of Bristol published today in the Journal of Hydrology. Climate change is happening and flood risk increases as the climate warms.

Researchers are seeking to understand what drives transport of radioactive material from the tree to the soil, through and across the soil, and eventually into agricultural crops and water resources Research at the University of Liverpool is developing new sensors that will help the recovery and regeneration of the post-disaster Fukushima region and pave the way for improved monitoring and control of radioactivity at nuclear sites worldwide.

Press release issued: 4 April 2014 The total warming impact of 25 major synthetic greenhouse gases has been examined by an international team, led by researchers from the University of Bristol. The study estimates that, without additional limits on synthetic greenhouse gas use, the resulting increase in warming could outweigh the climate benefits gained thus far from phasing down chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Press release issued: 4 April 2014 Increasing uncertainty in the climate system compels a greater urgency for climate change mitigation, according to new research from the University of Bristol. Scientific uncertainty has been described as a 'monster' that prevents understanding and delays mitigative action in response to climate change.