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Mangroves and mud: Investigating past sea level

by Juliet Sefton on September 10th, 2017

Dawn had already broken when our plane touched down on Mahé island, lighting up the cloudy shifting sky and the turquoise waters lapping at the runway’s edge. From my plane window I could already see...

Paris Agreement: Success or Failure, and What Next?

by CelineGermontDuret on August 24th, 2017

COP23 (see here and here for details of the previous COP meetings are) is currently taking place in Bonn, Germany. The focus of this conference is to put the landmark Paris agreement into practice, without the...

Coastal flooding around the UK coastline

by Dr Ivan Haigh on February 13th, 2017

Coastal floods, driven by extreme sea levels, are a major hazard both nationally and globally, with wide-ranging social, economic and environmental impacts. Nationally, it is estimate that £150 billion of assets and 4 million people...

COP22: Action COP

by Dr. Tim Lane on December 12th, 2016

COP 22 was hosted by King Mohammed VI in Morocco in November 2016. Around 500 heads of state and government ministers attended. It was the first meeting after the implementation of the Paris Agreement. COP21...

Oxygen Isotopes in Speleothems

by Dr Andrew Smith on January 6th, 2016

Stalactites and stalagmites (also called speleothems) are found in cave environments across the planet (see Figure 1). They form as water from the surface percolates into the ground and drips into the cave. Speleothems can be extremely...

COP21 by numbers

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on December 14th, 2015

As world leaders reach a landmark deal aiming to curb global emissions of greenhouse gases, and keep temperature rise below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, we take a look at the COP21 vital stats.

Key Facts for Future Climate – COP21

by Dr. Tim Lane on December 10th, 2015

COP21 – Paris Climate Conference 30th November to 11th December 2015 Key facts for future climate What is COP21? And who is involved? COP21 has involved two weeks of talks between government officials from around...

Oceans and climate change: ecosystems

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on June 22nd, 2015

As the final part of our oceans and climate change series, this article explores marine ecosystems, looking at primary productivity, microorganisms, and changes in species composition and biodiversity. Have a look at the previous parts of...

Oceans and climate change: ocean chemistry

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on June 15th, 2015

As part of our oceans and climate change series, this article explores ocean chemistry and the impacts that climate change may have on the marine environment. We focus on ocean acidification and eutrophication. Take a look...

Oceans and climate change: physical processes

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on June 10th, 2015

As part of our oceans and climate change series, this article explores physical ocean processes and the ways that they interact with, and respond to, climate drivers. We examine key issues such as changes in ocean circulation...

Oceans and climate change: Key facts

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on June 8th, 2015

What is an ocean? The global ocean covers 71% of the planet. While there is one global ocean, it is split into five geographical regions. These are the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific...

Climate Week 2015: Climate Science Challenge

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on March 4th, 2015

This year we celebrated Climate Week with a public event at Manchester Museum inviting visitors to take part in our Climate Science Challenge. Over 1,200 visitors joined in our celebrations, and together with researchers and...

Interview: Powering the Top of the World

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on December 17th, 2014

Powering the Top of the World is a new documentary by Christoph Mazur and Chris Emmott, from Imperial College London. It explores energy supply in Nepal, and the innovative solutions to sustainable energy provision in some...

Snail shells provide detailed records of environmental change

by Jonathan Lewis on December 9th, 2014

By Dr Jonathan Lewis and Prof Melanie Leng The shells of molluscs from all over the world – on land, in lakes, and in the ocean – contain very detailed imprints of past climate change....

In brief: the IPCC Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report

by Dr. Tim Lane on November 3rd, 2014

Ignorance can no longer be used as an excuse for no action Michel Jarraud – World Meteorological Organization What is the Synthesis Report? The newly published IPCC Synthesis Report, released on 2nd November, draws...

The greenhouse effect and its role in the Earth’s climate

by Joanna Haigh on October 16th, 2014

The Sun bathes the Earth in radiation. Much of this radiation reaches the surface, warming the planet and driving the climate. The surface then emits heat (as infrared radiation), most of which does not escape...

Understanding past sea-level change

by Natasha Barlow on October 6th, 2014

Sea-level change is an important consequence of climate change, whether natural or anthropogenic. Global mean sea level has been rising. For the 20th century, the average rate was 1.7 ± 0.5 mm yr–1 (IPCC AR5), and...

In brief: the UN Climate Summit

by Dr. Tim Lane on September 24th, 2014

This week, delegates from the UN met in New York to discuss global climate change and to develop strategies for tackling these issues. What are the outcomes of their discussions? And what does this mean...

Volcanoes and climate change

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on August 24th, 2014

What happens to the atmosphere when volcanoes erupt? Can volcanic eruptions lead to climate change? In 2010 the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in south Iceland brought air traffic in northern Europe to a standstill for almost...

Can isotopes help define the Anthropocene?

by Jonathan Dean on August 19th, 2014

By Dr Jonathan Dean, Prof Melanie Leng and Prof Anson Mackay The Anthropocene is a term that is increasingly being used to refer to the current interval in geological time in which humans have...

Desertification: land degradation under a changing climate

by Dr. Tim Lane on June 17th, 2014

Today, 17th June, is the World Day to Combat Desertification, with an event being held by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and hosted at the World Bank in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), TerrAfrica and Connect4Climate. The...

Quaternary science in the UK: 50 years of past climate research

by Dr. Tim Lane on April 29th, 2014

2014 is a big year for Quaternary science! In January, the UK Quaternary Research Association (QRA) celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The QRA is a research organisation which focuses...

Mitigating climate change – The IPCC WGIII report

by Dr. Tim Lane on April 17th, 2014

What is the IPCC WG III? On 14th April 2014 the IPCC Working Group III (WG III) published their latest report (link) on climate change mitigation. This is the third of three reports from the...

Oxygen isotopes and lakes

by Prof. Melanie Leng and Dr. Jonathan Dean on March 29th, 2014

Lakes occur across the globe and are sensitive to climatic change. Analysing the sediments that have accumulated at the bottom of lakes over time can help us to reconstruct past environmental change. Here, we focus specifically...

Moraines – piles of dirt record glacier fluctuations

by Dr Sven Lukas on March 10th, 2014

What are moraines? And how do they form? Moraines are piles of debris deposited by glaciers. Such landforms can form along the margin of a glacier – at the front or its sides – or...

The Royal Society and National Academy of Sciences – Climate Change: Evidence & Causes

by Dr. Tim Lane on March 3rd, 2014

“Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. It is now more certain than ever, based on many lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth’s climate. The atmosphere and oceans have...

Researching the belly of Icelandic glaciers

by John Groves on February 19th, 2014

Glaciers are some of the best indicators of climate change. Their existence depends on a fine balance between mass accumulation (usually through snowfall) and mass loss (mainly by ablation or melting). Any small increases in...

IPCC special: Future climate phenomena and regional climate change

by Dr James Renwick on January 7th, 2014

The latest report of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) combines new and better observations with improved models to provide a clearer and more definite picture of humanity’s influence on...

Antarctic expedition to estimate thinning ice sheets

by Richard Selwyn Jones on December 28th, 2013

Antarctica might seem like a desolate and inhabitable continent with little to offer other than perhaps the sight of penguins, but it holds the answers to many scientific questions. Simply put, Antarctica is covered by...

IPCC special: Long-term climate projections

by Prof. Mat Collins on December 16th, 2013

Chapter 12 of the 5th Assessment Report of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) deals with future projections of climate change in the long-term. Long-term in this case means beyond the middle of the 21st century...

Microbes on ice: Climate amplifiers?

by Dr Joseph Cook on December 9th, 2013

Lifeless ice? At first glance, the cryosphere – including all frozen water on Earth – appears to comprise vast, cold expanses devoid of biology. However, even the most remote, hostile and unlikely icy locations in both...

Measuring Greenhouse Gases

by Dr Katja Riedel on December 4th, 2013

It is not at all trivial to make precise measurements of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, but exactly this is needed when assessing climate change impacts from human emissions. Only when present concentrations are...

Changing glaciers in Antarctica

by Dr. Bethan Davies on October 28th, 2013

Glaciers are the ‘canary in the coal mine’. Shrinking glaciers are the world’s most visual, most impressive evidence of globally warming temperatures. This is particularly evident around the Antarctic Peninsula, which is currently warming at...

Bogs, bugs and bryophytes: reconstructing past climate from peatlands

by Dr. Matt Amesbury & Dr. Tom Roland on October 14th, 2013

Bogs as archives of past climate change Since approximately 12,000 years ago, when the major ice sheets of the last ice age began their slow but relentless decline in the face of rising temperatures, Northern...

Shouldn’t climate scientists try harder at communicating their findings?

by Dr. Kathryn Adamson on October 5th, 2013

Public interest in climate change has exploded over the last decade. The increased exposure of public audiences to the scientific discourse, however, is not always straightforward. By the time scientific understanding has migrated to the...

The Anthropocene: our place in Earth’s history

by Dr. Jan Zalasiewicz on October 3rd, 2013

The Anthropocene – the concept that the Earth’s surface geological processes are now human-dominated – is often considered to be more or less synonymous with climate change. Today, however, climate change is only one component – relatively minor,...

Wildfire: recycled sunlight or fuel for climate change?

by Dr. Thomas Smith on August 17th, 2013

The rainforest is burning in Sumatra, Indonesia. A majestic Meranti tree is close to the fire line. As flames from the surrounding canopy rage closer to this ancient tree, water quickly evaporates from its leaves,...

Extinction: the changing face of the biosphere

by Prof. Adrian Lister on August 4th, 2013

In the Earth’s 4.6 billion year history, over 99% of all the species that have ever existed have become extinct. In the majority of cases, these extinctions are due to competition between species for space,...

Alpine plants and recent climate change

by Prof. John Birks on July 12th, 2013

Alpine plants grow above the altitudinal tree-line in mountains around the world. Because alpine plants grow in areas with low summer and winter temperatures, very low night temperatures, frost, short growing-season, high winds, or extended snow-lie,...

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