Global Warming Threatens Tropics

Everyone knows that the artic and polar regions have been affected the most by global warming, but now, scientists in Costa Rica are saying that animals and plants in the tropics may face an even bigger threat. "Many lowland tropical species could be in trouble," warns Robert K. Colwell of the University of Connecticut and his team of researchers. "The tropics, in the popular view, are already hot, so how could global warming harm tropical species? We hope to put this concern on the conservation agenda," Colwell said.

"That's because some tropical species, insects are an example, are living near their maximum temperatures already and warmer conditions could cause them to decline," Colwell explained. "We chose the word 'attrition' to emphasize slow deterioration," he said. "How soon that will be evident enough for a consensus is difficult to say." The researchers predict that in a century, the temperature average will rise 5.8 degrees. This would make 53% of the species they studied subject to attrition. However, this doesn't mean that today's jungles will one day be dried up and lifeless. "Tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Some species will thrive," Colwell said. "But they are likely to be those already adapted to stressful conditions," like weeds.

There are some nearby locations of animals and plants that are currently experiencing rising temperatures, and fleeing from them. Particularly in the tropics, the answer may be not be to move out but to move up. The reason for this is that species in the tropics have to go north or south for thousands of kilometers to maintain their climate conditions that they are used to. "Instead," Colwell said, "the most likely escape route in the tropics is to follow temperature zone shifts upward in elevation on tropical mountainsides." The researchers say that when you move uphill, the temperature decreases between 9.4 and 11.7 for every 1,000 meters. To get a similar result of temperature change by traveling north or south, the traveling species would have to travel over 620 miles. But unfortuneatly, moving uphill can't work for everyone, species living on mountain tops have no where to go then.

Animals in other climate types are also affected by global warming. The warming climate has some risk factors for the small mammals in Yosemite National Park. Ranges for some high elevation animals like the alpine chipmunk have decreased. Ranges for low elevation animals like the harvest mouse have increased. A recent study has shown that many animals' ranges are changing from the current location to higher and cooler places.

Article posted on CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/10/tropics.threatened.ap/index.html

Keeping Track of Climate Change

Sometimes it is hard work to keep track of what changes are currently happening to our planet. Every day there is a new prediction. Every week there is a new warning. This can frustrate even the most dedicated of climate change followers. But as of now, their frustrations are over. A team of scientists, researchers and programmers at NASA has developed one of the most extensive climate tracking sites right on the web. From space, NASA watches over the earth and provides current information about our home planet and how it is changing in a detailed and eye-catching way that makes it easy to understand, find and follow. The Web site's producer Randal Jackson says "What we really wanted to do was to give people a visual presentation that wasn't so heavily reliant on text and also give some indicators that are highly visual, giving an immersive experience about what's going on with the planet."

Coordinated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, the Web site is made to be interactive for the viewers so they can discover a series of climate issues that can be researched. One revolutionary function connected to this web site is something called the climate change machine. This allows the users to look into recent changes that have happened to the climate including carbon dioxide emissions and the rising average global tempature. Also viewers can look forward in to how the sea levels are rising and how they can effect regions along the coast all over the world. It is really suprising to see how much a one meter rise can do. Jackson says, "while the sea level rise does not sound like a huge amount, 0.4 milimeters change per year, what you see in the Climate Time Machine is that even small changes at sea level can actually make a dramatic difference for humans." Another upsetting climate change is the disappearing artic ice, from 1979-2007, 38% of it is gone.

On the main page, you can see the cause, effects, etc. that NASA is undertaking currently. In January 2009, NASA will launch the Orbiting Caron Observitor. Jackson says this will stream right onto the web site giving more reliable data on carbon dioxide. For new viewers, Jackson says that the key indicators toolbar is the best place to get started. This gives you a picture of what is currently happening at that point in time. The data is provided by satellites that are observing the planet. For example, sea level figures are updated monthly and changes in the ozone layer are updated daily.

If all this doesn't completely satisfy you, you can download a widget to your desktop and check out what is going on currently on a daily basis. Jackson concludes "Our overall goal is to engage people by giving them a real time look at the vital signs of the planet."

Article by CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/10/nasa.climatetimemachine/index.html

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