Soil respiration (RS) is the flux of microbial- and plant-respired carbon dioxide from the soil surface to the atmosphere, and constitutes the second-largest terrestrial carbon flux. It has been suggested that RS should change with climate, but this has been difficult to confirm observationally.
Up to 4.2 million people, mostly young children, will die needlessly over the next 6 years unless donors fill a looming multibillion-dollar shortfall in the budget of the GAVI Alliance.
Akikikis are small birds with limber tongues that are adept at pulling insects from the crevices in tree bark. The olive-and-white birds are also headed towards extinction. Earlier this month, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) listed the akikiki as endangered and warned that global warming may hasten its disappearance by prompting the spread of avian malaria.
Arriving at work on 5 March, Stanford University ecologist Paul Ehrlich found a rambling and highly profane voice message from someone identifying himself as John Q Public. In one of his more lucid moments, the caller labelled Ehrlich and his colleagues in the climate-science community as "progressive communists attempting to destroy America".
The integrity of climate research has taken a very public battering in recent months. Scientists must now emphasize the science, while acknowledging that they are in a street fight. (Editorial)
The early Pliocene (5 to 3 million years ago) is the period in the geological past believed to be the closest analogue to contemporary global warming. Palaeoclimate data suggest that there were persistent El Ni
What was responsible for the unusual climatic conditions that prevailed
during the early Pliocene, 5 million to 3 million years ago? Modelling studies point to intense tropical-cyclone activity as a possible answer.
A new generation of sophisticated Earth models is gearing up for its first major test. But added complexity may lead to greater uncertainty about the future climate.
