wolfyvegan

arquivado (Wayback Machine)

The risk of flooding events along the U.S. Northeast coast has doubled since 2005. Now, scientists have discovered that up to 50% of these events occurred because key Atlantic ocean currents are slowing down.

In a new study, researchers found that a considerable portion of the increase in flood risk was linked to the deceleration of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) — a giant network of ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean that includes the Gulf Stream and brings heat to the Northern Hemisphere.

The AMOC relies on surface waters that have traveled north from the Southern Hemisphere sinking in the North Atlantic. Once they reach the seabed, these waters can ride back south on bottom currents. But climate change is blocking the sinking step by releasing meltwater from the Arctic and Greenland Ice Sheet into the North Atlantic. This dilutes the salt concentration and reduces the density of surface waters, keeping them at the top of the water column.

archived (Wayback Machine):

• Live Science article
• research cited

The risk of flooding events along the U.S. Northeast coast has doubled since 2005. Now, scientists have discovered that up to 50% of these events occurred because key Atlantic ocean currents are slowing down.

In a new study, researchers found that a considerable portion of the increase in flood risk was linked to the deceleration of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) — a giant network of ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean that includes the Gulf Stream and brings heat to the Northern Hemisphere.

The AMOC relies on surface waters that have traveled north from the Southern Hemisphere sinking in the North Atlantic. Once they reach the seabed, these waters can ride back south on bottom currents. But climate change is blocking the sinking step by releasing meltwater from the Arctic and Greenland Ice Sheet into the North Atlantic. This dilutes the salt concentration and reduces the density of surface waters, keeping them at the top of the water column.

archived (Wayback Machine):

• Live Science article
• research cited

The risk of flooding events along the U.S. Northeast coast has doubled since 2005. Now, scientists have discovered that up to 50% of these events occurred because key Atlantic ocean currents are slowing down.

In a new study, researchers found that a considerable portion of the increase in flood risk was linked to the deceleration of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) — a giant network of ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean that includes the Gulf Stream and brings heat to the Northern Hemisphere.

The AMOC relies on surface waters that have traveled north from the Southern Hemisphere sinking in the North Atlantic. Once they reach the seabed, these waters can ride back south on bottom currents. But climate change is blocking the sinking step by releasing meltwater from the Arctic and Greenland Ice Sheet into the North Atlantic. This dilutes the salt concentration and reduces the density of surface waters, keeping them at the top of the water column.

archived (Wayback Machine):

• Live Science article
• research cited

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio (AP) — Stubborn drought in Ohio and the shifting weather patterns influenced by climate change appear to be affecting North America’s largest native fruit: the pawpaw.

Avocado-sized with a taste sometimes described as a cross between a mango and banana, the pawpaw is beloved by many but rarely seen in grocery stores in the U.S. due to its short shelf life. The fruit grows in various places in the eastern half of North America, from Ontario to Florida. But in parts of Ohio, which hosts an annual festival dedicated to the fruit, and Kentucky, some growers this year are reporting earlier-than-normal harvests and bitter-tasting fruit, a possible effect of the extreme weather from the spring freezes to drought that has hit the region.

Take Valerie Libbey’s orchard in Washington Court House, about an hour’s drive from Columbus. Libbey grows 100 pawpaw trees and said she was surprised to see the fruit dropping from trees in the first week of August instead of mid-September.

“I had walked into the orchard to do my regular irrigation and the smell of the fruit just hit me,” said Libbey, who added that this year’s harvest period was much shorter than in previous years and the fruits themselves were smaller and more bitter.

archived (Wayback Machine)

No longer breaking news, but it will probably be just as relevant in the years to come.

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio (AP) — Stubborn drought in Ohio and the shifting weather patterns influenced by climate change appear to be affecting North America’s largest native fruit: the pawpaw.

Avocado-sized with a taste sometimes described as a cross between a mango and banana, the pawpaw is beloved by many but rarely seen in grocery stores in the U.S. due to its short shelf life. The fruit grows in various places in the eastern half of North America, from Ontario to Florida. But in parts of Ohio, which hosts an annual festival dedicated to the fruit, and Kentucky, some growers this year are reporting earlier-than-normal harvests and bitter-tasting fruit, a possible effect of the extreme weather from the spring freezes to drought that has hit the region.

Take Valerie Libbey’s orchard in Washington Court House, about an hour’s drive from Columbus. Libbey grows 100 pawpaw trees and said she was surprised to see the fruit dropping from trees in the first week of August instead of mid-September.

“I had walked into the orchard to do my regular irrigation and the smell of the fruit just hit me,” said Libbey, who added that this year’s harvest period was much shorter than in previous years and the fruits themselves were smaller and more bitter.

archived (Wayback Machine)

No longer breaking news, but it will probably be just as relevant in the years to come.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.nz/post/22957102

As destructive and deadly tornadoes bared down on Kentucky, National Weather Service officials triaged to provide life-saving forecasts and warnings amid federal staffing cuts.

At least 23 people in the state died from powerful tornadoes that ripped through overnight May 16, and Gov. Andy Beshear said the death toll was expected to rise.

Most of the deaths were concentrated in the eastern part of the state, which is served by the weather service's Jackson, Kentucky, forecast office.

The office is one of four forecast offices that no longer has overnight staffing because of a shortage of meteorologists, according to Tom Fahy, legislative director for the weather service employees union. Hundreds have left the agency amid cuts ordered by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to slash the cost and size of the federal government.

archived (Wayback Machine)

archived (Wayback Machine)

The president’s push to expand timber and fossil fuel production “is a double whammy on the climate.”

archived (Wayback Machine)

The president’s push to expand timber and fossil fuel production “is a double whammy on the climate.”

archived (Wayback Machine)

The president’s push to expand timber and fossil fuel production “is a double whammy on the climate.”

archived (Wayback Machine)