Explore Our Planet

Prepared by Dr. Tina Tin this report compiles the scientific outcome published after the latest IPCC report. She points out the Arctic sea ice coverage was low this and last year and is stressed by an albedo feedback effect. Findings lead to a new maxi ...>>

Though the eleven year solor cycle as well as the Southern Oscillation hit their minimum 2007 is recorded as second warmth year in the period of instrumental data. More: Wikipedia: Solar Cycle Marshall Space Flight Center: NASA Satellites Capture St ...>>

Nearly a year after its launch, 28 April 2006, the French - U.S.A. mission CALIPSO collected numerous measurements of the structure of Earth's atmosphere in unprecedented detail. Equiped with a sort of optical radar, Calipso is designed to identify the imp ...>>

The Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) was biggest ever realized with Hubble Space Telescope (HST). For 2 years the survey observed and photographed [SkyWalker] a small portion of the sky. Within 2 square degree over 2 million galaxies were detected. By co ...>>

Ongoing global climate change causes changes in the species composition of marine ecosystems, especially in shallow coastal oceans. During evolution, animals have specialised on environmental conditions and are often very limited in their tolerance to enviro ...>>

An art science collaboration starts today on the Ross Ice Shelf. 99 blue spheres varying in size from ten inches to four feet across represent the stars as of 2006-12-22. This temporary monument with about 800 feet in diameter is conducted by internationall ...>>

Climate change is a process which impacts species, eco-systems and biodiversity. Many species already adapted to higher temperatures and changed the length, timing and location of their migration routes. Some species, like green turtles, are suffering highe ...>>

Since 1873 the temperature of the North Sea is measured, but the length of current warm period is unique. With an average of 0.13°C every year temperature rises, 1.7 degree since 1993. Fishes and mussels adapt to changed conditions and move from Bay of Bi ...>>

The second week in Nairobi started with new ideas, e.g. a more flexible aproach to include more countries and to avoid 'islands' of pollution. Australian's Environment Minister Ian Campbell's suggested a 'New Kyoto' and earned laughter and the 'Fossil of t ...>>

The Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) programme of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) promotes systematic and reliable observations of the global atmospheric environment. The Environment Division of WMO's Atmospheric Research and Environment Programme ...>>

The Chancellor Gordon Brown asked Sir Nick Stern to lead a major review on the financial implications of Climate Change, to understand the nature of the economic challenges and how they can be met. "The Stern review has done a crucial job. It has demolished ...>>

Humans will need two Earth's by 2050 if present trends in natural resource consumption continue. Currently, our use of ecosystem goods and services such as food, timber, energy, and waste recycling exceeds the planet's biocapacity by 25 percent. According t ...>>

This report from the European Environment Agency contains a compilation and analysis of past and projected greenhouse gas emissions from EU Member States and other EEA member countries. It is based on data and related information submitted by 33 countries ...>>

As one of the UK's leading relief and development agencies Tearfund tackles the causes and effects of poverty. Recent report with a foreword from Sir John Houghton highlights two key points:   Climate change jeopardises water supply for mil ...>>

Using nine different climate models a research team focussed not the averages, but the extremes. Lead author Claudia Tebaldi and colleagues computed 10 different indices of climate extremes, with 5 related to temperature and 5 to moisture. For all three gr ...>>

Nine expeditions during the International Polar Year 2007-2009 are awaiting your application. If you are between 14 and 19 and enrolled in high school this is a great opportunity to visit the ends of our earth. Students from any country in the world are invit ...>>

The study "Climate Change and Insurance: An Agenda for Action in the United States" was issued by the Allianz Group (FRA:ALV) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). As detailed in the report, climate change has the potential to significantly alter and intensify ...>>

The Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA) is a collaboration between the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and a team of independent experts. Counted as nation the Northeast represents the world's seventh largest source of CO2 emmisions. On the ot ...>>