Tag: climate

The war in Ukraine has undermined environmental and climate research in the Arctic

The sanctions against Russia are putting the brakes on Arctic research. The lack of cooperation with the Russians means that a lot of information is being lost, says the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Nuclear power is a friend of nature and the environment

OPINION: Based on our recent study of 870 power plants worldwide, nuclear energy is a clear winner in protecting ecosystems, while bioenergy is an indisputable loser.

These small bacteria eat huge amounts of methane. How will they respond to climate change?

When the bacteria are thriving, they eat less.

The last Ice Age excavated bedrock equivalent to 500 times Mount Everest

Researchers have calculated how much volume the last Ice Age eroded in Norway and northern Europe.

World's oldest DNA: Scientists discover 2-million-year-old remains of plants and animals

Genetic material from the elephant relative mastodon, cedar and spruce has now been discovered in a warmer Greenland of yore. It is the oldest DNA ever found.

For a long time people thought fossils were animals and dragons drowned in Noah’s flood. Then scientists discovered the Ice Age

In a new book, Reidar Müller describes the history of the climate and the people who pieced it together.

Will the geologists of the future see that something dramatic happened on Earth starting in 1950?

Scientists are considering whether we are entering a new epoch in the Earth's history: the Anthropocene — the age of humans.

What’s happening with the ‘doomsday glacier’ in Antarctica?

The Thwaites Glacier is a wild card when it comes to sea level rise, researchers say. A new study describes the glacier’s movements in the past.

These were the first plants to appear in northern Norway after the last ice age

A large DNA study tells us how nature reacted when the climate changed. The knowledge gained will be used to create better models of what could happen in the future.

Researchers and the media need to stop crying ‘wolf’ about the Gulf Stream

There are many, many things we should worry about when it comes to global warming. But worrying that the Gulf Stream will stop is not one of them, says one Norwegian oceanographer.

These rodents may be the reason Norway has one of the world's most radioactive glaciers

Traces of radioactivity from Chernobyl and nuclear explosions from the Soviet era coat the surface of the glacier. Researchers are surprised by the high radioactive levels they’ve found.

Deadly heat and extreme rainfall: This is what the world will be like if the temperature rises by 3 degrees, according to researchers

“It is very likely that we will reach three degrees. I consider 1.5 and 2 degrees to be almost unattainable. Now the question is how close to three we will get,” says one Norwegian researcher.

A strong breeze and chance of storms: How we used pollen to create a wind forecast from 10,000 years ago

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Pollen can travel far through the air, allowing scientists who find them to trace the winds of the past. Maaike Zwier writes about her new study from South Georgia, where ancient pollen may reveal shifts in the dominating westerlies.

Making useful products from greenhouse gases

A new plant will use CO2 to both replace oil and be transformed into useful chemicals.

What’s best for the climate, buying a new electric car or driving your old petrol car into the ground?

The answer depends on how the emissions are calculated, it turns out. And here the experts disagree.

Here’s what the latest climate models say about what will happen to Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets

More warming doesn’t necessarily mean that meltwater from Antarctica will contribute to even more sea level rise in 2100, but there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about the future.

Norwegians have built a half-million cabins as holiday homes. Is that too many?

There’s roughly one cabin for every tenth Norwegian, and more will be built.

Arguing over road tolls can be good for the climate, researcher says

The debate over road tolls has helped Norwegians to talk about the politics of wealth distribution in the climate debate, researcher Tarje Wanvik says.

Researchers surprised by sky-high greenhouse gas emissions from biogas residues

The residues from biogas production emit twelve times as much methane gas as other decayed organic material.

Why are climate scientists so much more confident in their predictions now?

It's not just about the increase in extreme weather and higher temperatures.

Older people are less worried about climate change than before the pandemic

Are we more concerned about coronavirus than the climate?

How do we get people to eat less meat? We need a voice for ignored consumers

OPINION: Without a clear blueprint to engage consumers, addressing the challenges associated with high meat consumption will continue to be a dream that is discussed between the experts with little to no impact.

Now researchers know what’s underneath Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in continental Europe

Jostedalsbreen represents perhaps the largest unknown area in the region. Recently, geologists have mapped the glacier using georadar.

Norway is going to invest in hydrogen. But what happens when there’s a gas leak?

Some studies suggest that hydrogen emissions may lead to more methane in the atmosphere and damage the ozone layer. Now researchers at Cicero will investigate how large the effect actually is.

The "missing link" that triggered the ice ages

Melting icebergs from Antarctica are the key, according to a new study.

What actually started the Little Ice Age?

It all may have started with sea ice, and the changes may have happened all by themselves without the influence of volcanoes or the Sun, researchers behind a new study say.

Chinese and Norwegian scientists have drilled an almost 600-meter deep hole into the Tibetan Plateau. This gives them a window into the past.

Among their findings is that ice age cycles suddenly became stronger just over 600,000 years ago. Researchers were also struck by how little plant life has changed over the past 1.7 million years.

Norwegian beans can replace foreign soy

Soy from different countries is now widely consumed by vegetarians or by people who want to reduce the amount of meat they eat. But Norwegian-grown fava beans can be an equally good protein replacement, new research confirms.

Here’s what politicians can do to make our consumption more environmentally friendly

One researcher is calling for specific measures, such as a law mandating that products be repairable.

You will never fly to far-away holiday destinations by electric plane

There are physical limitations that we can never overcome, one physicist says.

Government wants Norway’s universities to compete to be best on environment and climate issues

The Ministry of Education and Research wants to see how students, researchers and other staff measure up when it comes to cutting climate impacts. Not everyone is equally excited.

Very little money is actually spent on climate research

Researchers have looked at where USD 1.3 trillion in research funding is spent across the globe. Less than 5 per cent of this money has gone to climate research. Studies that examine how society can cope with the climate of the future are given a very small share of this pot.

Most Norwegians think they have a responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions

But there is no consensus as to what should actually be done.

The long, harsh Fimbul winter is not a myth

Half of Norway and Sweden’s population may have died. Researchers now know more and more about the catastrophic year of 536.

Wasting water in Norway has consequences for the environment

Norwegians use almost twice as much water as the Danes. These wasteful habits come at a cost.

A climate policy that oil companies can support

Instead of companies and consumers paying climate taxes, oil companies could cut production, according to Norwegian economists. In return, they would be paid more.

How studies of Norwegian fjord ice can help create a safer future for the arctic

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: During winter, a thick layer of ice can form on the surface of the northern Norwegian fjords. The knowledge of the varying conditions of this ice can be applied to understand to protect and aid the Arctic in the future.

Norwegians won’t stop flying, even though they know it’s bad for the planet

Flying is one of the last things that Norwegians want to give up. Should we require people to cut their air travel by one flight a year? One researcher says that won’t work, and that the only solution is electric airplanes.

Statistics yield better results from climate models

Nordic researchers are creating more realistic forecasts of Earth’s future climate by collaborating with statisticians. Now they’re encouraging other climate researchers to do the same.

The mysteries of glide avalanches

The glide avalanche is exotic, complex, and not well-understood. Norwegian geologists have gained a better understanding of the mechanics of this special breed of avalanche.

Detecting avalanches with satellite radar

Satellite imagery that can penetrate fog, darkness and storms to detect old and recent avalanche tracks has the potential to help improve avalanche forecasting across Europe.

Behind-the-scenes look at Norway’s US$1.6 billion rainforest initiative

An unusual convergence of political and environmental interests led Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to promise billions from Norway to protect rainforests at UN climate conference.

Time to rethink how fungi and bacteria impact the climate

A Swedish and US researcher think climate models have to be revised. A Norwegian expert has doubts about that.

Scientists discover mountains that haven’t changed in a million years.

Special ice layer protected Svalbard’s mountain ranges for at least one million years.

Tundra shrubs can speed warming

A rapidly warming climate is boosting the growth of shrubs on the tundra. These absorb more solar heat and intensify global warming.

Declining winter sea ice near Greenland spells cooler climate for Europe

OPINION: Loss of winter sea ice around Greenland and Iceland is affecting ocean circulation there, and could lead to a cooler climate for western Europe.

Spring is arriving earlier

Around the globe, leaves are popping and fruit trees are blooming earlier than before. Norwegian records show that the temperature in mid-May is about one degree higher today than it was 40 years ago.

Puffin chicks die of hunger

For seven years now, Atlantic puffins have been abandoning chicks and eggs in their nesting colonies because they cannot find enough food. The ocean is teeming with mackerel which consume the small fish that puffins normally feed to their offspring.

Aerosols are wild cards in climate models

Tiny airborne particles in the Earth’s atmosphere affect its climate. But uncertainties regarding their impact can be greater than reckoned in climate models, according to new Norwegian research.

Climate can explain intestinal trouble

Chronic inflammation of the colon is more common in colder regions. Climate, particularly temperature, can have an influence on the reasons behind the disease, scientists believe.

Reindeer genes show clear influence from last Ice Age

The genes of modern reindeer help scientists understand how past climates affected the species - and give clues as to how reindeer will handle future climate change.

Should India invest in Arctic oil?

OPINION: In an unusual twist of events, the second most populous country in the world has become an unlikely player in the far flung Arctic high north.

Students tote ecosystems in rucksacks

What key discoveries do researchers make about climate change when they use students as sherpas to shuffle ecosystems around on Norway’s west coast fjord landscapes?

Warmer in Southern Europe, wetter in the North

European scientists have joined forces in a report to politicians. This is what we can expect of extreme weather in times ahead.

Enduring climate crisis by gene doubling

Ancient grains of pollen show how conifers survived one of the Earth’s greatest mass extinctions.

Wet tundra can also capture carbon

Do permafrost thaws and bacteria comprise a climate bomb in the Arctic?

Living the green dream -- a zero emissions city district

The researchers behind a climate neutral housing district in Trondheim often hear their plan blasted as utopian. And it is. But that doesn’t make it impossible or unrealistic.

Growth rings from the days of the Black Death

A piece of wood from a storehouse in Norway reflects back to a story of a young girl who survived the bubonic plague and details climate conditions and construction methods in the 1300s.

Norwegian invention can decrease CO2 emissions

A new Norwegian technology can remove nearly 90 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by coal-fired power plants.

Previously unknown particle increases ocean acidity

Until recently, nobody knew tiny calcium carbonate particles are prolifically found in the open sea. Their origin is a mystery but climate change models will need to take them into account.

Damming bogs can curb climate gases

Farmers can help reduce CO2 emissions by restoring bogs which were previously drained for agriculture.

Mountain plants crowd at the peaks

A warmer climate is enabling hardy lowland vegetation to ascend mountains and thrive at higher altitudes. When they can’t get any higher, they’ll crowd together on peaks.

Adapting rice cultivation to climate changes

India’s millions of peasant farmers need to make their rice crops more robust in the face of the climate changes. A Norwegian-Indian project aims to increase crops also when little water is available.

Why Svalbard is rising

OPINION: New measurements explain why the uplift of the Svalbard islands is larger than the models predict.

The passive housing revolution

Seventy percent cuts in carbon emissions and 75 percent cuts in energy consumption by 2050? Passive house technology could make it happen.

Natural disasters ease conflicts

Droughts and floods don’t lead to conflicts and they can even increase community spirit and lessen the chances of war, according to climate expert.

Bright spots in the environmental gloom

The climate crisis can seem insolvable, but since the 1970s we have actually solved some of our major environmental challenges.

Factoring sheep into climate calculations?

Tree rings in many regions could be more affected by hungry herbivores than by temperatures. This should be taken into account in calculations of historic climate.

Could take the lead at the bottom

Norwegian researchers want to develop new technology and establish observatories in the depths of the Norwegian Sea. Deep Norwegian sea beds are attracting international interest.

Suburbanites are climate villains

Who are the most eco-friendly, rural people or city people? Whatever the answer, if you are climate conscious you should stay clear of the suburbs.