Like any other field, research on climate change has some fundamental gaps, although not the ones typically claimed by sceptics. Quirin Schiermeier takes a hard look at some of the biggest problem areas.
With climate-change sceptics waiting to pounce on any scientific uncertainties, researchers need a sophisticated strategy for communication. (Editorial)
The elevation of the Tibetan plateau is thought to cause its surface to serve as a heat source that drives the South Asian summer monsoon, potentially coupling uplift of the plateau to climate changes on geologic timescales.
Received wisdom about the main driver of the South Asian monsoon comes into question with a report that tests the idea that the Himalayas, not the Tibetan plateau, are the essential topographic ingredient.
The Southern Ocean is potentially a substantial sink of anthropogenic carbon dioxide; however, the regulation of this carbon sink by the wind-driven Ekman flow, mesoscale eddies and their interaction is under debate.
Two lines of evidence nearly brought down the last-minute climate agreement brokered in Copenhagen by US President Barack
Obama: studies indicating that the impacts of global warming could be more severe than previously thought, and that rich countries could do more to counter the problem without breaking the bank.
It is easy to feel disappointed by the accord brokered last week by US President Barack Obama at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen. The document's broad outlines do not constitute a treaty, nor is it even clear whether it should technically be called a global agreement.
