The ecological footprint (EF) commonly neglects the influence of other stressors than land use and CO2 emissions on the land area required for human activities. This study analyzes the relevancy of including nutrients and non-CO2 greenhouse gases in the EF assessment of products. The analysis was based on environmental information for 1,925 goods and services. Our findings suggest that within s...

It has been suggested that large-scale climate changes, mostly due to atmospheric injection of "greenhouse gases" connected with fossil-fired energy production, should be forestalled by internationally-agreed reductions in, e.g., electricity generation. The potential economic impacts of such limitations are obviously large: ≥$1011/year. We propose that for far smaller — <1% — costs, the mean th...

An observed trend in the Southern Hemisphere annular mode (SAM) during recent decades has involved an intensification of the polar vortex. The source of this trend is a matter of scientific debate with stratospheric ozone losses, greenhouse gas increases, and natural variability all being possible contenders. Because it is difficult to separate the contribution of various external forcings to t...

The Brazilian Amazon is one of the most rapidly developing agricultural areas in the world and represents a potentially large future source of greenhouse gases from land clearing and subsequent agricultural management. In an integrated approach, we estimate the greenhouse gas dynamics of natural ecosystems and agricultural ecosystems after clearing in the context of a future climate. We examine...

he aim is to better understand this complex system thereby improving computer models that can be used to predict the sensitivity of climate to changes produced by natural phenomena and human activities. One of the most difficult challenges in unraveling the climate puzzle is the role of aerosols in regulating planetary temperature. People from a range of disciplines and backgrounds are working ...

The presence of atmosphere can appreciably warm a planet's surface above the temperature of an airless environment. Known as a natural Greenhouse Effect (GE), this near-surface Atmospheric Thermal Enhancement (ATE) as named herein is presently entirely attributed to the absorption of up-welling long-wave radiation by greenhouse gases. Often quoted as 33 K for Earth, GE is estimated as a differe...

The attribution of the observed shift in precipitation extremes to different forcing agents represents a critical issue for understanding changes in the hydrological cycle. To compare the effects of aerosols and greenhouse gases on the historical trends of precipitation intensity, we have performed the National Center for Atmospheric Research/Department of Energy Community Atmosphere Model vers...

[1] We explore possible mechanisms for the generation of warm, wet climates on early Mars as a result of greenhouse warming by both water vapor and periodic volcanic trace emissions. The presence of both water vapor (a strong greenhouse gas) and other trace greenhouse gases (such as SO2) in a predominantly CO2 atmosphere may act, under certain conditions, to elevate surface temperatures above t...

[1] In many climate model simulations using realistic, time-varying climate change forcing agents for the 20th and 21st centuries, the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) weakens in the 21st century, with little change in the 20th century. Here we use a comprehensive climate model to explore the impact of various climate change forcing agents on the THC. We conduct ensembles of integr...

Due to the large porosity and unique framework stability, ZIF-8, a representative zeolitic imidazolate based member of metal-organic framework (MOF) family exhibited excellent adsorption capacities for a wide range of gases, including greenhouse gases. Using in situ FTIR spectroscopy, ZIF-8 framework was investigated when loaded with CO2 in a diamond anvil cell at high pressures far beyond the ...