It may seem counterintuitive, but on the heels of the most recent IPCC report on our changing climate, Kyle Armour finds reasons for optimism. “The degree of climate change we’ll experience this century depends on our future greenhouse gas emissions, which depend on the collective choices we make. Our future is up to us,” says Armour. He posted his thoughts on Twitter when many headlines about the report’s findings were overwhelmingly grave.
Read more »Dryer, warmer night air is making some Western wildfires more active at night
Firefighters have reported that Western wildfires are starting earlier in the morning and dying down later at night, hampering their ability to recover and regroup before the next day’s flareup. A study by University of Washington and U.S. Forest Service scientists shows why: The drying power of nighttime air over much of the Western U.S. has increased dramatically in the past 40 years.
Read more at UW News »UW Environment researcher plays leading role in latest IPCC report
Kyle Armour, associate professor of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences, served as a lead author in the recently published United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Over the past three years, Armour collaborated with roughly 200 scientists all over the globe in an effort to come to a common understanding about the climate crisis and the steps needed to stabilize it.
Read more at The Seattle Times »Last ice-covered parts of summertime Arctic Ocean vulnerable to climate change
In a rapidly changing Arctic, one area might serve as a refuge — a place that could continue to harbor ice-dependent species when conditions in nearby areas become inhospitable. This region north of Greenland and the islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago has been termed the Last Ice Area. But research led by the University of Washington suggests that parts of this area are already showing a decline in summer sea ice.
Read more at UW News »South Pole and East Antarctica warmer than previously thought during last ice age, two studies show
The South Pole and the rest of East Antarctica is cold now and was even more frigid during the most recent ice age around 20,000 years ago — but not quite as cold as previously believed. University of Washington glaciologists are co-authors on two papers that analyzed Antarctic ice cores to understand the continent’s air temperatures during the most recent glacial period.
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