Climate science
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This week’s Georgia Climate Project Roadmap question addresses the need for more research on how human-induced changes in land use changes, urbanization, agriculture, and introduction of exotic species will affect native ecosystems and biodiversity. You can see all the Roadmap questions at https://roadmap.georgiaclimateproject.org/. 8. How will the effects of multiple human-induced stressors affect species distribution and…
Posted in: Climate science -
As temperatures continue to rise, people in Georgia will be exposed to more health challenges like tropical diseases, heat-related illnesses, and air and water quality issues. Although all Georgians will feel the impacts of these challenges, the poor, elderly and young will be especially affected. How can we build resilience in healthcare and public health…
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A friend of mine just went to Antarctica to do field work on a set of weather stations down there that have to survive incredibly harsh conditions. It is now spring there and many scientists are headed that way to do their summer research. He is already finding that some of the stations received much…
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Since rain is in the forecast, I thought you might be interested in this story from EarthSky about what we call “petrichor”, which is basically the musky, earthy odor we smell when it starts raining. It is not the rain itself that has an odor, but the moisture releases chemicals from the soil that combine…
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A new study published recently in the journal Nature indicates that the ocean is absorbing heat and getting warmer at a much quicker rate than previously estimated. The study indicates that it could be gaining 60% more energy each year than previously documented. This could mean that global climate models are underestimating how much warming…
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Our latest question from the Georgia Climate Project’s Roadmap of important research questions on Georgia’s future climate vulnerability addresses the changing risk of extreme events such as hurricanes, floods and droughts. It asks how the changes in the risks is affecting the costs of addressing climate change on different time scales and what the implication…
Posted in: Climate science -
I recently ran across this story from January 2018 which describes an invited talk that Edward Geller, famous physicist and part of the Manhattan Project, gave to a gala celebration noting the 100th anniversary of the petroleum industry. According to a transcript of the speech, given in 1959, Geller warned petroleum executives that the increase…