Kloden Kalder

Models find few links between sea ice loss and weakened jet stream

In capturing the music of freshwater life, scientists have found a new way to measure underwater biodiversity.

An observationally calibrated ice sheet–shelf model suggests that global warming of 3 °C will trigger rapid Antarctic ice loss, contributing about 0.5 cm per year of sea-level rise by 2100.

Why is sea level rise so hard? Data, modeling and projection challenges still exist even while we make incremental progress.

The Guardians of the Forest, a group of indigenous Guajajara in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, struggle to defend their land from invaders and to guarantee their survival in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Arne Naess” Portrait of the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess and the Deep Ecology Movement. Made in 1997 by Rerun Productions, TheNetherlands. Shot…

Bighorn sheep and moose learn to migrate from one another. When they die, that generational know-how is not easily replaced.

To feed a growing population in the face of the uncertainties of climate change, agricultural systems must be redesigned. Regenerative Agriculture has demonstrated remarkable results in eliminating toxic inputs, increasing fertility, regenerating soil life and strengthening on-farm resilience against climate extremes.

It is well known that microbes, zooplankton, and fish are important sources of recycled nitrogen in coastal waters, yet marine mammals have largely been ignored or dismissed in this cycle. Using field measurements and population data, we find that marine mammals can enhance primary productivity in their feeding areas by concentrating nitrogen near the surface through the release of flocculent fecal plumes. Whales and seals may be responsible for replenishing 2.3×104 metric tons of N per year in the Gulf of Maine's euphotic zone, more than the input of all rivers combined. This upward “whale pump” played a much larger role before commercial harvest, when marine mammal recycling of nitrogen was likely more than three times atmospheric N input. Even with reduced populations, marine mammals provide an important ecosystem service by sustaining productivity in regions where they occur in high densities.

Whales can poop almost anywhere they want. They have the entire ocean to relieve themselves in, so most of the planet can theoretically be their toilet. Yet, despite having a near-universal lavatory pass, cetaceans often relieve themselves near the surface. In the words of marine biologists Joe Roman and James McCarthy, many whales feed in […]

The Half-Earth Project, from the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, is working to conserve half the land & sea to safeguard the bulk of biodiveristy.

“This is an extraordinary time full of vital, transformative movements that could not be foreseen. It’s also a nightmarish time. Full engagement requires the ability to perceive both.&#…