Methane Emissions Now 12% Higher than Beginning of 21st Century Methane emissions are now significantly higher than the early 2000s, which is alarming scientists. In 2017 40 million metric tons more methane was released into the atmosphere than the beginning of this century. These emissions are concerning because methane can trap 30 times more heat in our atmosphere than carbon dioxide. The three main contributors are agriculture, landfills, and fossil […] Brains Alex Camerino | July 23, 2020 0 Comments
Measuring Snow Water Equivalent (SWE): A Job For NASA NASA is on a mission to accurately measure the world’s snow water equivalent (SWE), but why do we care? SWE is a calculation of how much liquid water is in a given snowpack or the depth of the snowpack multiplied by the density. If you are a winter recreator you are probably familiar with SWE even if you have never […] Brains Alex Camerino | July 17, 2020 0 Comments
Has Climate Change Brought an End to Summer Skiing on Horstman Glacier, Whistler Blackcomb, BC? In 2015, Whistler Blackcomb, BC announced that due to melting snow and the retreat of the Horstman Glacier they would take the unprecedented move of snowmaking in summer to preserve the long-held tradition of summer skiing on the glacier.ย It now looks like they managed to hold off the melting for five years, as photos of the area show the resort […] Industry News SnowBrains | July 14, 2020 10 Comments
A Crater Lake In India Quickly Changed From Green To Pink A crater lake in west-central India quickly changed from green to pink, and experts believe salinity and algae are the reasons.ย NASA revealed through photographs how the waters of Lake Lonar went from green to pink in just a matter of days. For now, the reason why remains a mystery.ย According to the Indian site Economic Times, the change in the […] Brains Sebastian Opazo | July 10, 2020 0 Comments
Thawing Permafrost Could Trigger New Pandemic In the middle of a global pandemic, what else could possibly go wrong?ย Well, another pandemic.ย Except this new one could be triggered by bacteria revived from thawing permafrost in the Arctic. Wait back up, is this for real?ย Sadly yes. During a major skillshare meeting last November in Hannover, Germany, scientists discussed the threat of microbes revived by the […] Industry News Gabrielle Gasser | July 9, 2020 0 Comments
The Italian Alps Are Turning Pink Due To Algae That Increases Melting Ice Snow in the Italian Alps is turning pink due to algae that absorb sunlight and increase the risk of ice melting.ย A group of Italian scientists analyzed the mysterious phenomenon of pink color on glacial ice in the Alps, probably caused by algae that would accelerate the effect of climate change. The origin of the algae is controversial, but the pink […] Brains Sebastian Opazo | July 9, 2020 0 Comments
Study Finds Climate Change Has Stopped 6,500 Years of Global Cooling A recent paleoclimatology study shows that climate change has reversed a major global cooling event. The study lays out that before roughly 150 years ago, the Earth, on average, was cooling for over six millennia. On June 30, the study was published in Nature Research’s Scientific Data revealing the most comprehensive data set ever studied in this line of research. […] Brains Ryan Flynn | July 8, 2020 0 Comments
Southern Ocean Sea Ice can Help Predict Carbon Levels The Southern Ocean occupies 14% of the Earthโs surface, and it is one of the biggest carbon sinks capturing about half of all human-related carbon in oceans to date.ย It plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle and in the Earthโs climate.ย Now, a new study of blue ice from scientists at UNSW and Keele University has found […] Brains Gabrielle Gasser | July 6, 2020 0 Comments