• Increasing Flood Risks in the U.K.

    As climate change continues to cause unpredictable and extreme weather events around the world, researchers are calling for engineers to rethink how they design for flood prevention. Flood frequency analysis has been the cornerstone of flood risk control, hydraulic structure design, and water resource management, but the researchers say that flood series in most areas do not follow historical patterns.

  • Tipping Elements Can Destabilize Each Other, Leading to Climate Domino Effects

    Under global warming, tipping elements in the Earth system can destabilize each other and eventually lead to climate domino effects. The ice sheets on Greenland and West Antarctica are potential starting points for tipping cascades, a novel network analysis reveals.

  • Offshore Carbon Capture, Storage

    Carbon capture and storage is the practice of trapping and disposing of carbon dioxide in rock below the seafloor or earth’s surface to reduce buildup of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.

  • How Coastal Towns Can Meet the Challenge of Sea Level Rise

    A group of Florida students was invited to participate in the community presentation of the “Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge,” a competition that tasked participating teams with reimaging how Nantucket, a small island off Cape Cod, could meet the challenges of climate change and sea level rise.

  • Previously Unrecognized Tsunami Hazard to Coastal Cities Identified

    A new study found overlooked tsunami hazards related to undersea, near-shore strike-slip faults, especially for coastal cities adjacent to faults that traverse inland bays. Several areas around the world may fall into this category, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Izmit Bay in Turkey and the Gulf of Aqaba in Egypt.

  • Solar Geoengineering May Alleviate Impacts of Global Warming on Crops

    Solar geoengineering — putting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and reduce global warming — is not a fix-all for climate change but it could be one of several tools to manage climate risks. A growing body of research has explored the ability of solar geoengineering to reduce physical climate changes. But much less is known about how solar geoengineering could affect the ecosystem and, particularly, agriculture.

  • “Viable but Narrow” Pathway to Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050: IEA

    The world has a viable pathway to building a global energy sector with net-zero emissions in 2050, but it is narrow and requires an unprecedented transformation of how energy is produced, transported and used globally, the International Energy Agency said in a landmark special report released Tuesday.

  • A Dangerous Fire Season Looms as the Drought-Stricken Western U.S. Heads for a Water Crisis

    Just about every indicator of drought is flashing red across the western U.S. after a dry winter and warm early spring. The snowpack is at less than half of normal in much of the region. Reservoirs are being drawn down, river levels are dropping and soils are drying out. It’s only May, and states are already considering water use restrictions to make the supply last longer.

  • Seeking Inclusive Strategies to Help Coastal Communities Adjust, Plan for Sea-Level Rise

    Recurring flood damage to homes and powerful storms that threaten infrastructure are realities facing many coastal North Carolina communities. However, for three predominately African-American, rural communities near the coast, NC State researchers documented additional injustices that threaten the communities’ ability to adapt to a changing climate.

  • Antarctica Remains the Wild Card for Sea-Level Rise Estimates

    Estimates show that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures would cut projected 21st century sea-level rise from land ice in half, relative to currently pledged emissions reductions.

  • Coral Reefs Prevent More than $5.3 Billion in Potential Flood Damage for U.S. Property Owners

    Coral reefs provide many services to coastal communities, including critical protection from flood damage. A new study reveals how valuable coral reefs are in protecting people, structures, and economic activity in the United States from coastal flooding during storms.

  • The New U.S. Climate Normals Are Here

    Every 10 years, NOAA releases an analysis of U.S. weather of the past three decades that calculates average values for temperature, rainfall and other conditions. That time has come again. Known as the U.S. Climate Normals, these 30-year averages — now spanning 1991-2020 — represent the new “normals” of our changing climate.

  • Antarctic Ice-Sheet Melting to Lift Sea Level Higher Than Thought: Study

    Global sea-level rise associated with the possible collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been significantly underestimated in previous studies, meaning the sea level in a warming world will be greater than anticipated, according to a new study. New calculations show the rise due to warming would be 30 percent above forecasts.

  • California's Wildfire Season Has Lengthened, and Its Peak Is Now Earlier in the Year

    California’s wildfire problem, fueled by a concurrence of climate change and a heightened risk of human-caused ignitions in once uninhabited areas, has been getting worse with each passing year of the 21st century.Researchers have found that the annual burn season has lengthened in the past two decades and that the yearly peak has shifted from August to July.

  • Interstate Water Wars Are Heating Up Along with the Climate

    Interstate water disputes are as American as apple pie. States often think a neighboring state is using more than its fair share from a river, lake or aquifer that crosses borders. Climate stresses are raising the stakes.