Nature (News in Focus)
Volume 488 (08/09/2012)
(1) Heat waves blamed on global warming
doi:10.1038/488143a
* An argument between NASA climatologist James Hansen and NOAA meteorologist Martin Hoerling: Are heatwaves caused by greenhouse gases or not? Kevin Trenberth from NCAR took the happy middle in this argument.
(2) Atmospheric chemistry: The X factor
doi:10.1038/488164a
* Mauldin et al. discovered a new atmospheric oxidant: CH2OO. This should help models refine the atmospheric oxidation process.
Nature (Letter)
(3) A new atmospherically relevant oxidant of sulphur dioxide
Mauldin et al
doi: 10.1038/nature11278
* The biogenic origin of alkenes in forests seems to produce a stabilized Criegee intermediate that significantly oxidizes sulphur dioxide. Full text of the article (2)
(4) Atmospheric CO2 forces abrupt vegetation shifts locally, but not globally
Steven I. Higgins & Simon Scheiter
doi: 10.1038/nature11238
* Three levels of CO2 simulations were conducted to investigate the vegetation shift in Africa. The shifts to alternative states happen, but the timing varies depending on sites.
Science (Perspectives)
Volume 337 (08/10/2012)
(5)
Ice sheets in transition
Peter U. Clark
doi: 10.1126/science.1226335
doi: 10.1126/science.1226335
* Elderfield provides new insights about the
origin and timing of middle Pleistocene transition (MPT). This could be due to the
expansion of Antarctic ice sheets influenced by Southern Hemisphere seasonal
insolation forcing.
Science (Research article)
(6) Evolution
of Ocean Temperature and Ice Volume through the Mid-Pleistocene Climate
Transition
H Elderfield et
al.
doi: 10.1126/science.1221294
doi: 10.1126/science.1221294
* MPT was initiated
by a rapid ice volume change in Antarctica 900,000 years ago, and it looks like
the cooling events didn’t happen gradually. Full
text of (5).
(7) The
provenances of asteroids, and their contributions to the volatile inventories
of terrestrial planets.
C. Alexander et
al.
doi: 10.1126/science.1223474
doi: 10.1126/science.1223474
* The bulk hydrogen
and nitrogen compositions of chondrites were plotted depending on the type of
chondrites to identify the sources of Earth’s volatiles.
PNAS (Perspective) Volume 109 (08/14/2012)
(8)
The urgency of the development of CO2
capture from ambient air
Kalus
Lackner et al.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1108765109
* This is
the detailed review of CO2 capture technology to
fight for the goal suggested by IPCC: reduction of the CO2 emission by 30 to 85
% until 2050. Cost evaluations were also included.
(9) Image reveals that atmospheric particles can
undergo liquid-liquid phase separation
Yuan You et al.
doi: 0.1073/pnas.1206414109
* New insights into
atmospheric aerosol particle: liquid-liquid transition seems to happen due to
humidity changes. This transition can increase gas-phase of NO3 and N2O5 and
also scatter the solar radiation.
