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Extreme precipitation over land has increased over the wettest and driest regions and is likely to keep intensifying over the twenty-first century. This has key implications for dry regions, which may be unprepared for the potential related flooding.
About 70% of agricultural output variance due to climate in Mato Grosso, Brazil was determined by changes in cropping frequency and/or changes in cropping area rather than yield (the most common climate impact indicator), a study now shows.
Research now shows that broad thermal niches observed in high-latitude ectotherms apply only to species undergoing range expansion or invasion. Non-range-expanding species are therefore unlikely to tolerate climatic warming at high latitudes.
Research now shows that there is a large discrepancy between how much megacities spend on adaptation. Those in developing countries spend considerably less per person than their developed counterparts, despite being the most vulnerable.
The interacting effects of temperature and precipitation changes on grasslands remain hard to quantify. Research now indicates widespread and consistent increases in North American grassland productivity under climate change despite greater aridity.
If the US were to implement power and transport policies consistent with a 2 °C scenario, it could prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year and be worth billions of dollars to the US economy.
Release of carbon previously locked in permafrost is a potentially important positive climate feedback. Now metagenomics reveal the vulnerability of active-layer soil carbon to warming-induced microbial decomposition in Alaskan tundra.
The degree of spatial synchrony of many North American wintering bird species has increased over the past 50 years. This may affect ecological resilience by decreasing the potential for demographic rescue from interacting subpopulations.
Modelling shows that increased beef production in the Brazilian Cerrado could lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase soil organic carbon stocks, provided that it is decoupled from deforestation.
Changes in ocean heat content over the industrial era are investigated from a range of observations. Using this data as input to climate models shows that nearly half of the increase occurred in recent decades, and more than a third occurs below 700 m.
How marine bacteria respond to ocean acidification was investigated by metatranscriptome analysis of mesocosm experiments. Bacteria in low-nutrient sea water had enhanced gene expression under elevated CO2 levels, in order to adapt to environmental stress.
Reducing agricultural emissions during times of increasing food demand is a challenge. Research, using the UK as an example, now shows the technical mitigation potential of increasing agricultural yields, reducing farmed area and restoring habitats.
Modelling of over 25,000 hydro- and thermoelectric power plants shows water constraints are likely to severely reduce usable capacity after 2040. Fuel switching, increasing efficiency and new cooling systems can reduce power plants’ vulnerability.
An analysis of the regional climate response to cumulative CO2 emissions establishes a clear quantitative link between the total amount of CO2 emitted and the magnitude of local climate warming.
Surface melt of the Greenland ice sheet is retained through storage in the surface porous ice. This study shows that successive melt events have caused the formation of near-surface ice layers, preventing this storage and increasing meltwater runoff.