With few data, Arctic carbon models lack consensus

As climate change grips the Arctic, how much carbon is leaving its thawing soil and adding to Earth's greenhouse effect? The question has long been debated by scientists. A new study conducted as part of NASA's Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) shows just how much work still needs to be done to reach a conclusion on this and other basic questions about the region where global warming is hitting hardest.

Continue ReadingWith few data, Arctic carbon models lack consensus

New Interdisciplinary Initiative to Study the Southern Ocean

A six-year, $21 million NSF-sponsored program to study the Southern Ocean and surrounding region was just launched. The SOCCOM (Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling) project is housed at Princeton University and brings together investigators from 11 institutions to study the role of the Southern Ocean in climate change and biogeochemistry through observations and modeling. Another goal for the program is to cultivate new scientists and conduct outreach to disseminate the results and broader impact. Furthermore, SOCCOM is deploying Argo floats with biogeochemical sensors that will increase monthly measurements by 10-30 times in the region. Visit their website for more information: http://soccom.princeton.edu/.

Continue ReadingNew Interdisciplinary Initiative to Study the Southern Ocean

Geology of northern Alaska: Examining the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microplate

(Geological Society of America) The tectonic evolution of the Arctic remains a subject of considerable uncertainty. The unknown Paleozoic and Mesozoic movements of a large block of continental crust, the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microplate, contribute significantly to that uncertainty. Edited by Julie A. Dumoulin and Allison Till of the US Geological Survey, this eight-chapter volume addresses that uncertainty and demonstrates the power of modern research tools to penetrate the effects of orogenesis and to reconstruct pre-deformational tectonic and paleogeographic histories.

Continue ReadingGeology of northern Alaska: Examining the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microplate