Communicating science
Scientific research is essential to almost all aspects of life- yet we’re in an age when scientists and their findings are met with contempt, distrust and even anger. We hear how this impacts scientists professionally and personally, and discuss strategies for repairing the relationship between science and the public.
With us:
Anne Toomey, associate professor of environmental studies and science at Pace University. She’s the author of the new book Science with Impact- How to Engage People, Change Practice, and Influence Policy
Heather Goldstone, Chief Communications Officer at Woodwell Climate Research Center
Chris Gloninger, Senior Climate Scientist at the Woods Hole Group.
Explore these 15 maps by award-winning Woodwell Climate cartographers Greg Fiske and Christina Shintani. Created in 2024, each tells a story about the immense beauty of the high north, the dramatic changes unfolding as the Arctic continues to warm three to four times faster than the rest of the world, and the equitable solutions being developed to address climate impacts in the region
Read More on Permafrost Pathways.
A new study, published in Environmental Research: Climate and co-authored by Senior Scientist Dr. Jen Francis at Woodwell Climate Research Center, finds that despite abnormal warmth globally, and especially in the Arctic, severe winter cold-air outbreaks will continue, and perhaps become more frequent across the Northern Hemisphere.
“Even though the globe is warming and cold records are falling less often, we are still seeing surprisingly severe cold spells that sometimes last for many days and invade regions unaccustomed to severe cold,” said Dr. Francis. “It seems really counterintuitive, but there will be plenty of ice, snow, and frigid air in the Arctic winter for decades to come, and that cold can be displaced southward into heavily populated regions by Arctic heat waves.”
“In this comprehensive review of recent literature augmented with new analysis, we find the ongoing warming of the Arctic may provide an explanation,” added study lead-author Dr. Edward Hanna.
The stratospheric polar vortex is a mass of cold whirling air that forms high above the Arctic surface in response to the large north/south temperature difference that develops during winter. During recent warm winters with a relatively warmer Arctic, however, this vortex has tended to weaken, which can disrupt the normal flow of the jet stream below it (a river of wind above northern midlatitudes) and lead to conditions called ‘blocking’, which in turn allow pockets of cold Arctic air to plunge much farther south than normal.
This review provides a new analysis of recent research that offers further clarity around these complicated interactions. According to study co-author Dr. Muyin Wang, “An improved understanding of Arctic-midlatitude climate linkages is likely to benefit seasonal prediction and extreme weather preparedness, as well as the understanding of climate change.”
Researchers also underscore the need for urgent action to address the climate crisis, and mitigate and adapt to the consequences of increasingly extreme weather. “The Arctic may seem irrelevant and far away to most folks, but our findings show that the profound changes there affect billions of people around the Northern Hemisphere,” said Dr. Francis. “To reverse these trends, and better protect our communities and our planet, we must take bold and rapid action now to reduce the burning of fossil fuels and the build-up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. The tools to achieve this exist if we can muster the will.”
The study resulted from an international workshop held in Lincoln, UK, in 2023, and was supported by the International Arctic Science Committee, the World Climate Research Programme’s Climate & Cryosphere project and the University of Lincoln. The full text can be read here.
The state of the Arctic: High temperatures, melting ice, fires and unprecedented emissions
The Arctic tundra has switched from a carbon sink to a source of emissions, according to a NOAA report.
The Arctic just experienced its second-hottest year on record. And concerningly, the region’s tundra has transitioned from being a sink for carbon to a source of emissions as permafrost thaws, releasing carbon dioxide and methane.
That will only amplify the amount of heat-trapping gases that enter the atmosphere, paving the way for further warming.
A chapter of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 2024 Arctic Report Card, published today, presents a new, comprehensive pan-Arctic carbon assessment that, when accounting for wildfire emissions, finds that the Arctic tundra has shifted from storing carbon to being a source of carbon emissions to the atmosphere.
While the Arctic has been a carbon “sink” for thousands of years—storing more carbon than it releases—the Arctic Report Card chapter, Arctic Terrestrial Carbon Cycling, explores how rapid Arctic warming is prompting a range of ecosystem changes that are leading to increased emissions throughout the region. Among these are thawing permafrost (perennially frozen ground), wildfires, and plant and microbial changes.
In particular, the assessment, led by scientists at Woodwell Climate Research Center, finds that 2024 marked the second-warmest average yearly permafrost temperatures on record for Alaska, and the second-highest year for wildfire emissions north of the Arctic Circle.
“The Arctic is warming up to four times the global rate, and we need accurate, holistic, and comprehensive knowledge of how climate changes will affect the amount of carbon the Arctic is taking up and storing, and how much it’s releasing back into the atmosphere, in order to effectively address this crisis,” said Dr. Sue Natali, Woodwell Climate scientist, chapter lead and lead of Woodwell Climate’s Permafrost Pathways project. “This report represents a critical step toward quantifying these emissions at scale which is critical for understanding their impacts on global climate and informing equitable mitigation and adaptation strategies.”
“In recent years, we’ve seen how increasing fire activity from climate change threatens both communities and the carbon stored in permafrost, but now we’re beginning to be able to measure the cumulative impact to the atmosphere, and it’s significant,” said Dr. Brendan Rogers, Woodwell Climate scientist, chapter co-author, and co-lead of Woodwell Climate’s Permafrost Pathways project.
“This year’s report demonstrates the urgent need for adaptation as climate conditions quickly change,” said Twila Moon, lead editor of the 2024 Arctic Report Card and deputy lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. “Indigenous Knowledge and community-led research programs can inform successful responses to rapid Arctic changes.”
Contributions to the chapter were also made by Woodwell Climate scientists, Dr. Kyle Arndt, Dr. Jacqueline Hung, Greg Fiske, Stefano Potter, and Dr. Anna Virkkala, as well as collaborators at University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Northern Arizona University, and Université de Montréal.
The Arctic Report Card combines the best available research from over 97 scientists from 11 countries, including seven from Woodwell Climate. Its chapters reveal record-setting observations of a rapidly warming Arctic, including rising air temperatures, declines of large inland caribou herds, and increasing precipitation. These climate impacts and others threaten the health, subsistence, and homes of many Indigenous communities living in the Arctic.
The full Arctic Report Card can be read here.
Second-warmest November on record means that 2024 is likely to be Earth’s hottest year, report says
Earth just experienced its second-warmest November on record — second only to 2023 — making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured, according to a report Monday by European climate service Copernicus.
Last year was the hottest on record due to human-caused climate change coupled with the effects of an El Nino. But after this summer registered as the hottest on record — Phoenix sweltered through 113 consecutive days with a high temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius) — scientists were anticipating that 2024 would set a new annual record as well.
Continue reading on AP News.
