Yes, human activity is putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than natural processes take it out. Rising carbon dioxide levels are strengthening Earth's greenhouse effect and causing global warming.
Looking for a sustainable alternative to harvesting wild seaweed, a small California company partnered with a commercial oyster grower to test-farm native seaweeds. The crop reduced pollution and buffered local ocean acidification.
During active hurricane eras, a persistent zone of high vertical wind shear along the U.S. East Coast provides protection from rapidly intensifying hurricanes. With high emissions, that shear is projected to relax.
Global atmospheric carbon dioxide reached 405.0 parts per million (ppm) in 2017, a new record high. In the 1960s, the global growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide was roughly 0.6 ppm per year. Over the past decade, however, the growth rate has been closer to 2.3 ppm per year.
About a third of the carbon dioxide released by fossil fuel burning winds up in the global ocean. Repeat cruises help scientists understand what happens to that carbon below the water surface.
A saildrone observed the growth and decay of a bloom of ocean plants in the Alaskan Arctic in late summer 2017. Such blooms affect the rate of regional ocean acidification, which occurs as surface waters absorb human-produced carbon dioxide.
Winter so far has people out west asking, Where’s the snow?
February 15, 2018
Once at odds, a climate expert and botanist who studies ancient plants later teamed up to improve understanding of one of the warmest periods in Earth history.
History of Earth's surface temperature 1880-2016
January 17, 2017