Coccolithophores are single-celled algae and protists that are found throughout the surface euphotic zones of the world’s oceans. They contain chlorophyll, conduct photosynthesis and possess special plates or scales known as coccoliths, which they create via the process of calcification. This summary briefly reviews the results of several studies investigating how coccolithophores may be affected by ocean acidification… Read More »

A number of people are concerned that Earth’s temperature will rise so high and so fast in response to CO2-induced global warming that many alpine plant and animal species will soon be mere memories, because of the assumption that after being forced to migrate to the tops of the mountains upon which they now reside at lower levels,… Read More »

Periodically, individual scientists and groups of scientists analyze global sets of sea level data to see if there is any indication of a dramatic increase in the mean rate-of-rise of the global ocean surface in response to the supposedly unprecedented warming of the planet over the course of the 20th century and the initial phase of the 21st… Read More »

Noting that Antarctic sea ice may show high sensitivity to any anthropogenic-induced increase in temperature, Watkins and Simmonds (2000)1 analyzed temporal trends in different measures of the sea ice that surrounds Antarctica, using Special Sensor Microwave Imager data obtained from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program for the nine-year period December 1987-December 1996, in search of the suspected signal.… Read More »

Most of the ocean acidification research conducted to date has focused solely on the biological impacts of declining seawater pH. Fewer studies have investigated the interactive effects of ocean acidification and temperature. This summary examines what has been learned in several of such studies for coral reefs, as reported in various laboratory-based studies on the topic. Contrary to… Read More »

In agricultural enterprises the buildup of soil salinity from repeated irrigations can sometimes reduce crop yields. Similarly, in unmanaged ecosystems where exposure to brackish or salty water is commonplace, saline soils can induce growth stresses in plants that are not naturally adapted to coping with this problem. Consequently, it is important to understand how rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations… Read More »

Is the human-induced increase in the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide concentration good or bad for the earth and its inhabitants? A number of scientists who base their opinions primarily on the predictions of climate models vociferously claim that it’s bad. Other scientists, who base their opinions primarily on real-world weather measurements and historical proxy temperature reconstructions, along with the… Read More »

Near the start of the current century, Holland (2001)1 wrote that with respect to contemporary state-of-the-art global climate models, “some physical processes are absent from the models,” while noting that in light of the coarse-resolution grids employed by the models, “some physical processes are ill resolved” and that others are actually “missing from the simulations,” which facts led… Read More »

“Earthworms,” in the words of Edwards (1988), “play a major role in improving and maintaining the fertility, structure, aeration and drainage of agricultural soils.” As noted by Sharpley et al. (1988), for example, “by ingestion and digestion of plant residue and subsequent egestion of cast material, earthworms can redistribute nutrients in a soil and enhance enzyme activity, thereby… Read More »