Shrinking Ponds Put Amphibians at Risk

Northwest amphibians, from frogs to salamanders, have long evaded predation from exotic trout living in the region’s rivers by seeking refuge in nearby ponds and other shallow waterways. However, these amphibian safe havens are drying up because of climate change, a recent paper in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment concludes. Conservation tools that could…

Warmer Summers May Mean Slower Douglas-Fir Growth

Douglas Fir is a climatically versatile and commercially valuable tree species. Although its response to climate variability and change is still uncertain, a new study suggests that as Oregon’s temperature continues to rise, summer heat may limit Douglas-fir growth in the future. In the Northwest, Douglas-fir growth is determined by interactions of temperature and soil…

Winds, Waves, and Storms Are Growing Stronger

Certain storms are getting stronger and hitting more often in the Northern Hemisphere. That is the conclusion, reported by Russell Vose and colleagues, of one workshop in a series of National Climate Assessment workshops that examined changes in extreme weather events. Winds, waves and “extratropical” storms have increased in intensity and frequency over recent decades,…

Co2 Doubling and Global Warming: How Soon Will Scientists Know More?

Having more certainty about “climate sensitivity” is important because it could help shape climate policy, according to Nathan Urban and colleagues. “Climate sensitivity” (or “equilibrium climate sensitivity”) is the amount of global warming that will happen when atmospheric CO2 doubles, relative to preindustrial levels. (If scientists could rule out high sensitivity, then policies could be…

Northwest Faces Scarce Water, Wildfires, Coastal Challenges in Future

The Northwest can expect temperatures to rise between 3.3 degrees and 9.7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2070 to 2090. That is among the sobering conclusions of the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA), released last month by President Barack Obama. The report — the most comprehensive and authoritative yet on climate change’s projected effects on the…